Introverted
by Call Brandybuck
Summary: A collection of moments or deleted scenes involving the characters of Gravity Falls. (Now including AUs)
1. Bottled Up Inside

**This is basically a collection of very brief one-shots involving either a character's thoughts or a "deleted scene" I feel was needed in an episode. I will accept requests for moments to write about, but be aware that it may be a bit before I get to writing it ****because I can be lazy...and also busy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these episodes - Gravity Falls belongs to Alex Hirsch and Disney. I am merely adding in my interpretations of moments or moments I believe should have been added in.**

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><p><strong>Bottled Up Inside<strong>

"Well, I guess you can't deny magic exists anymore, right?"

He was a coward, if he chose to be honest with himself. He was terrified of these supernatural oddities and this created the need to hide or lie about whatever freakish creature the kids encountered this time. Not that he would ever admit this aloud.

So when he heard Dipper's nervous attempt at a light-hearted joke, Stan couldn't help but feel like his whole world was crumbling to the ground. He had tried so hard to hide the town's paranormal activity, struggling to protect them from the creatures they faced, from his secret so far below the Shack... And now, standing with his back to the kids in front of the attic door, behind which many zombies were trying to break down, he knew there was no way out of this one. He couldn't possibly lie about this.

"Kid, I've always known."

The expressions on their faces as he turned broke his heart. Mabel was shocked, having not expected such an outright response or any such thing to come out of his mouth at _all,_ and Dipper... The kid's eyes showed a mixture of disbelief and hurt in them. He couldn't believe that his great-uncle had lied so blatantly to his face, and this caused a pang of guilt to hit Stan right in the heart.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Dipper asked, searching for some sort of sign that this was a practical joke, that he hadn't been lied to for _nearly_ _a_ _month_ about the town's mysteries.

Stan gritted his teeth, knowing there was no going back from this now. It was already out there, there was no hiding the truth.

"I'm not an idiot, Dipper! Of _course_ this town is weird! And the one thing I know about that weirdness is that it's dangerous!"

The attic door shuttered behind him, a zombie's hand reaching through, and the three hurriedly backed up in fright. Stan glanced down at the two preteen kids whom he had come to love and his heart ached once more.

"I've been lying about it to try to keep you away from it. To try to protect you from it!"

Another zombie burst in through the window behind them and Stan instinctively punched the monster in the face, peering out the window as it fell into the crowd gathered below. A sinking despair filled him as he realized that he was responsible for these kids, and he couldn't protect them from _all_ of the zombies. There was no way they'd make it out alive. And if he had noticed the problem sooner, maybe they wouldn't be so badly screwed over.

This was all his fault.

"I guess I didn't lie well enough."

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><p><strong>I love this moment, sorry. Scary-oke was a fantastic way to start off the season, and Stan and Dipper's relationship in the episode makes me want to cry.<strong>

**Any requests?**


	2. Friendly Advice

**I already have one request and it hasn't been 24 hours! Thank you so much!**

**From McWhiteRose (Guest): "Can you make a scene where Bill interacts with someone besides the main characters?"**

**I assume you mean besides Dipper, Mabel, or Stan? Coming right up! (Kind of based on a personal headcanon of mine, sorry)**

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><p><strong>Friendly Advice<strong>

If there was one thing that Fiddleford knew, it was that you could not trust anyone. He had learned that very quickly when he had joined forces with this mysterious author, encountering creatures and monsters that were always lurking out of sight, watching him with alert eyes. No one was safe in this paranormal town, not with everything ready to stab you in back the moment you encountered something strange and new. The only people he had placed his trust in now were his wife, the author, and his small son who was far too young to deal with this craziness.

He often looked in the journals when the author was working on the portal, just curious to see what had been written down so far. He smiled at the notes he already knew, remembering how absurd these creatures had appeared not very long ago. There were monsters that he did not know of, though, and he made a mental note to himself to draw protection spells around the house to protect his wife and son from such things. They suspected nothing odd of the town as of late, but that could change drastically if he was not careful. The last thing he wanted was something dreadful to happen to them because of his stupidity.

It was late one night when Fiddleford found the newest page in the author's second journal. The man was off getting supplies for the machine and had left Fiddleford in charge of the lab for the night until he returned. The inventor couldn't help but smile at how much trust was being placed in him, liking the idea of a quiet atmosphere for a few hours.

He picked up the journal and flipped to the most recent page, raising an eyebrow at the odd sketches there. _Creature #326_, read the title of the page. There appeared to be some sort of triangle inside of a wheel with ten odd (yet strangely familiar) symbols lined up inside. Fiddleford could not stop the small shudder that ran up his spine as he stared at the large eye resting inside the triangle.

This was by far one of the oddest creatures he had seen as of yet. Why had the author added this geometrical figure to the book? Was it of some significance?

He was so engrossed in the pages that he did not notice the colors of the lab vanishing, fading to black and white, nor the large eye peering down at him from one of the rounded light above his head. It was not until a loud high-pitched cackling reached his ears that the man jumped and looked up in shock.

_What on earth...?_

The eye's long pupil grew as the outline of the triangle appeared around it, an angular body slowly forming to create the creature on the journal page. Fiddleford hurriedly shut the journal and stuffed it into his jacket as the laughter echoed in the floor of lab. A bright yellow triangle with a top hat... Well, that was new.

The triangle (or should he call it Creature #326? Was that term too demeaning?) floated down to eye level, only three feet from the man's face. "Well, well, well! I see you've certainly been busy helping old Six Fingers, eh? How nice of him to finally add me to the journal!"

Fiddleford found himself oddly flustered in the creature's presence as a black cane appeared and the triangle began to twirl it about casually. How did it know who he was?

"Oh, I know lots of things! _Lots of things..._" The triangle suddenly froze and a rapid series of images flashed across his front, so fast that Fiddleford could not keep up with it. He managed to catch a glimpse of perhaps one: a young boy in a suit holding out his hand, as if wanting someone to shake it. As quickly as they showed up, the images vanished and the triangle was itself once again.

_That was odd. Almost as if it had - _

"Read your mind?" Fiddleford jumped and eyed the geometrical shape in suspicion as it cackled. "I'm a dream demon, it's kind of my thing!"

"A dream demon?" That was definitely nothing he or the author had heard of before. "D-Do you have a name?"

The triangle laughed at his nervous stammering. "The name's Bill Cipher, and I already know who you are, McGucket."

"Y-You do?"

Something about the creature made him feel uneasy. He had always encountered creatures with the author, or the author had seen them on his own. Why was one now just suddenly talking to him?

If the triangle had a mouth, Fiddleford was certain that he would be smiling. "Of course! I already told you: I know lots of things!"

"Why are you here? Why are you talking to me?"

Bill floated down to his side, hooking the man's arm with his cane to yank him closer. "Just came to offer a bit of advice, that's all! You know, your friend who is writing these journals must know he's digging in deep here, right? I mean, the mysteries of the town are dangerous and the more answers you find... The less you will wish you knew.

"So my advice for you to tell your _friend_," Bill growled, turning scarlet red slowly before his eyes, "is to turn back before he sees something he will regret."

Before Fiddleford could make a witty retort or think of a way to respond, the triangle returned to his normal yellow glow and floated up to the ceiling. "But until then, I'll be watching you! Just remember: _the universe is a hologram, reality is an illusion, buy gold, BYEEEEEE!_"

Fiddleford sat upright with a cry as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Blinking slowly, he realized the lab was now colorful once more, and the author had returned, frowning down at him in concern.

Was it merely a dream? Had he imagined the whole thing?

"Are you alright? You appeared to be having a very terrifying dream." The author's voice was laced with concern and the younger man considered telling him all he had seen. But what if he was overreacting and Bill Cipher was made up by his imagination?

A familiar cackle filled the room, but the author did not seem to hear anything out of the ordinary. Fiddleford set his jaw and knew he had to say something. "I was visited by a demon... We may have something new to add to the journals now."

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><p><strong>Well, I hope this was satisfactory or at least met your expectations, McWhiteRose! I left the author as anonymous due to the fact that I'm not entirely on board with any of the theories going around just yet. Besides, it adds a bit of mystery, eh?<strong>


	3. Final Form

**This one made more sense in my head when I started it. Oops.**

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><p><strong>Final Form<strong>

The moment her voice registered in his head, his body froze and Dipper found that it was difficult to breathe properly.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should have known she was there. You should have guessed._

It couldn't be her, she was right in front of him, but when he turned she was standing _right there_ with his journal in hand. She was blushing slightly, seeming awkward with her red hair askew and her plaid shirt tied around her waist. It _had_ to be some sort of trick of the mind but it _wasn't_ because she was _right there_ and he felt his face turn scarlet.

_Stupid! How could you not have heard her? How could you have not seen her?_

"W-Wendy...?"

He glanced back at the still form of the redhead on the ground, a sense of dread filling him as he wiped his tears away. "W-Wait, then who's...?"

The doppelganger sat up and growled at Wendy, charging with inhumane speed. Dipper yelled at her to look out, horrified when the two began to wrestle for the journal, shouting at one another. He lost track of who was the shapeshifter after only a few moments, unable to guess which was his not-so-secret crush.

As they fought, Dipper's eye was drawn to the fallen axe, gleaming on the soggy earth. He glanced back at the two Wendys and felt sick as an idea came to mind.

_No. That's too dangerous! You could guess wrong and kill the real Wendy!_ screamed a voice in his head.

But somehow the boy found himself picking up the axe and racing towards the fight, hefting it up beside his head as he searched for some indication as to who was who.

The Wendys took notice of him as he neared, both having a tug of war with the journal now, and began to shout at each other and at him.

"Give it back! It belongs to Dipper!"

"Hit her with the axe!"

"Don't listen to her!"

"She's the shapeshifter!"

It was impossible to tell the difference. Both looked exactly alike. The shapeshifter had done its job well in baffling the twelve year old.

"I don't know who's who!" he cried. "Give me a sign!"

The Wendy on the right winked at him subtly, as if having told a secret joke between them. The other merely made an all-too-familiar display of zipping her lips shut, and Dipper held back a gasp of recognition. The shapeshifter could fool him with appearances but there was no way the creature would know about little things like that.

The boy swung the axe as hard as he could at the doppelganger and the two friends watched as it roared in anguish and transformed into the disgusting true form of the shapeshifter. Dipper glanced at the freezing tubes behind the monster and got an idea as it flashed _READY._

"Push him in!" he told Wendy. She nodded and the two charged, pushing the creature with all their strength into the waiting tube. They backed up quickly as it tried to rush at them but the door closed on it. They watched as the shapeshifter howled and began transforming into other creatures, pounding on the glass angrily in a futile effort to escape before it froze.

"Let's get out of here, dudes." Dipper turned and saw Soos and his twin had met up with them. He nodded and they began to walk away, already beginning to relax after the crazy events of that day.

A sudden dark laugh reached the boy's ears and they all froze, turning back to the freezing tube. An uneasy feeling filled Dipper's heart as he realized he could not see the monster inside the tube.

Without warning, its ugly face reappeared and they gasped as it seemed to look directly at them, not yet frozen.

"You think you're so clever, don't you, Dipper? But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author. If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine. And this will be the last form you ever take!"

On those last words, the shapeshifter changed one final time, becoming none other than Dipper himself, screaming in terror. The creature froze in that very form, and the real Dipper felt a shudder run up his spine at the terrible sight. _Well, that's not creepy at all._

"Hah! Good luck sleeping tonight!" Soos said, trying to lighten the mood. No one laughed, though. Mabel glanced at her brother and Dipper swallowed down his fright long enough to say quietly, "Let's get out of this place."

The others murmured agreement and they walked in silence, leaving behind the frozen monster and trying not to appear fazed by its ominous warning. Dipper could feel everyone glancing at him from time to time, though, and he tried not to notice. He couldn't help but see that screaming doppelganger in his head again, the terror in his eyes not lost on the preteen boy.

_What did the shapeshifter mean? The last form I'll ever take?_

Dipper silently led the group through the security room, being careful not to step on the alarm again.

_What exactly am I "up against"? Gideon? Bill? Something worse than the shapeshifter and all of the monsters I've seen so far combined?_

Whatever it was, the boy prayed he never found out.

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><p><strong>Why do I like making these dark and ominous..? I have no idea.<strong>

**Any requests?**


	4. Just a Scratch

**I got another request so I'm whipping it out there as fast as I can! I hope this is satisfactory, my dear reviewer. (I've been planning a Bipper scene for a while and you gave me inspiration, so thank you!)**

**From AkeldamaStone (Guest): "Could you do something Bipper related? If you've seen "Soap Opera," you'll know what I mean. I heard there was supposed to be a scene where Wendy realizes the Dipper isn't acting normally (cuz he's possessed by a triangle, for goodness sake!), and maybe you could do that? Either that or you can make up something Bipper related. It's okay if you don't want to do either one of those, they're just suggestions!"**

**(I also included a small bonus part involving the aftermath of the episode, because I felt that Dipper's reactions were needed. Oops!) Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Just a Scratch<strong>

Wendy wasn't too familiar with the supernatural in Gravity Falls, having not encountered anything magical and whatnot really until this summer. She hadn't seen much of ghosts or shapeshifters until she had met Dipper and Mabel Pines, and while the creatures were rather disturbing, she thought it was cool that her eyes had been opened suddenly to this new world of magic and supernatural oddities.

This also meant the redhead had begun to observe her surroundings more, to look at the townsfolk with a new apprehension, often wondering if one of them was a vampire or something. She'd put it off sometimes as paranoia when she felt a creepy shiver up her spine, and didn't think much of it afterwards. After all, it was only natural for her to suddenly be wary and afraid of this stuff, right? Who wouldn't be?

So when she and Soos went to leave to head to the theater for Mabel's sock opera, and they found Dipper waiting outside by himself, she didn't think much of it at first.

"Oh, hey Dipper! There you are!"

"What up, dude?" Wendy said, smiling at him warmly. She ignored the tingling in her spine as she noticed the preteen's smile was a bit too wide for comfort. _Probably just excited or something._

"We're heading to the theater," Soos explained and she quickly chimed in with a, "Need a ride, Dipper?"

"Oho, anything for you, Red!"

That was what set off the warning bells in her head. Wendy's smile twitched as she studied the boy closer. He didn't appear to be acting abnormally, other than that rather strange smile and his words. Why on earth was he calling her Red now? Dipper wouldn't say these types of things to her face...

Soos didn't seem to notice anything was wrong and headed for the truck, saying something about heading to the theater. Wendy studied Dipper for another moment before heading after him, trying not to look suspicious as the boy got in next to her and buckled his seat belt. Soos turned up the radio at her request and that was when she received her second warning sign.

"But how can you stop me? _If you don't exist..." _The preteen burst out laughing and Soos did as well, not seeming to hear the boy's mumblings. Wendy pretended to laugh too for appearances, but her heart was filled with dread. _What the heck is going on with Dipper? It's like he isn't himself..._

Throughout the entire ride, Wendy glanced at Dipper out of the corner of her eye, trying to find some sort of hint clueing her in to what was wrong with her friend. Soos chatted mostly to himself the whole way, rambling on about something having to do with the sock opera. Wendy didn't pay him much attention; she was too caught up in her worrying over the younger male.

Before she knew it, they had arrived, and Soos hurried to get their tickets before it got too crowded, leaving both adolescents in the truck to wait. Wendy couldn't help but glance over at her friend anxiously, wondering why he was acting so unusual. He would normally be trying to start an awkward conversation by now or making some joke about how Soos was going to forget to grab something by the time he got to the front of the line. She knew the twins had had a fight earlier. Was that why he was being so quiet?

That didn't add up, though. He had also called her Red and started talking to himself.

_Maybe he's just a little tired._ Wendy tried to reason this out in her head. _I mean, he has huge bags under his eyes and you know he's been obsessing over that laptop Soos fixed._

She sighed to herself and glanced back at him, noting that the preteen boy was smiling widely still and watching everyone outside the window with a devious glint in his eyes. None of it made sense. Was there something supernatural going on with the boy? Did there - ?

Wait. _Was that...?_

Wendy felt ill all of a sudden as she stared at Dipper's arms. Bloody gashes were blatant to see with a couple of scratches littered down the side of his elbow, something she knew had certainly not been there earlier. They looked as if forks had been embedded in his arms, which was a weird thought.

"Whatcha looking at, Red?"

She jumped a little, meeting the boy's eyes as he gazed back at her. _There's that nickname again._ "Uh, Dipper?"

"Yep?"

"Wh-Why do you have those gashes? Did you hurt yourself?"

Dipper gave her another abnormally wide smile that stretched from ear to ear, to her shock. "Oh, don't worry! It's just a scratch!"

"Dipper, those look deep!" she tried to reason with the kid, feeling her stomach churn as she glanced again at the bloody wounds. Why did this not bother him? If it was anything more than a paper cut, he would usually get all worked up and ask for a Band-Aid or something to cover his cut. "Are you sure you're alright? I can get you to a hospital if you need one, I'm sure Mabel wouldn't mind if we missed her play for something like this."

The boy chuckled in a way she definitely did not like. "Red, I'm fine. The pain doesn't feel too bad, actually! It's rather hilarious, to be honest!"

_Pain? Hilarious?_

This wasn't Dipper. The person she knew and called friend would never act like this. There was something going on, some sort of personality change or like and she didn't like it at all.

Before she could confront this strange Dipper, Soos returned and waved up three tickets with a broad smile. "Hey dudes! Are you ready to go? I got us good seats so we'd better get inside quick."

She looked back at her preteen friend, trying not to shudder at the sight of him covering his bleeding arms, and something flashed in the boy's eyes that scared her. Something that said: _Tell no one of this._ For some reason, she knew if she disobeyed, something bad was going to happen. The shiver that normally ran up her spine whenever she encountered some supernatural creature returned and Wendy knew something was terribly wrong.

And yet, the teenager got out of the car and pretended everything was alright, just as her friend pretended he wasn't injured as they entered the theater. _Later_, she promised herself with a frown in Dipper's direction. _I'll weasel the truth out of him later._

**JUSTASCRATCHJUSTASCRATCHJUSTASCRATCHJUSTASCRATCHJUSTASCRATCHJUSTASCRATCH**

She almost didn't believe Mabel when she explained the story later the next day after she had arrived for work. Dipper being possessed by some demonic triangle who wanted his journal destroyed? It seemed a little far fetched.

But then she reflected upon the things the boy had said and done, his reaction to the pain and bleeding gashes in his arms (which the twelve year old girl had reassured her were bandaged up by none other than herself that previous night after the disaster of a show), and how she had felt so uneasy near him since he had gotten into Soos's truck with her.

Perhaps it wasn't so ridiculous after all.

Wendy crept to the attic while Stan was taking a bus load of tourists on a Mystery Tour and peeked inside the room. Dipper sat on his bed with the journal at his side, glaring at his bandaged arms (which Mabel had done a decent job of wrapping, she noted in relief).

He seemed normal enough. There was only one way to test this...

"Hey dork. How've you been holding up?" she said, entering the attic room.

His head shot up and a smile lit up his face. Not a disturbingly wide smile, a normal happy one.

"Wendy! H-Hey! I've been... well, I've been better, but I'm okay now."

It was definitely him.

Wendy smiled warmly and sat down next to him, nudging his bandaged arm gently so as not to hurt him more. "Mabel told me about what really happened yesterday. Did that triangle guy really stick forks into your arms, or was she just exaggerating?"

Dipper groaned, his scowl returning at the memory of the incident. "No, he really did. He also slapped himself, slammed my hand in a drawer, and deliberately fell down the stairs. _Backwards._"

"Oh, man. No wonder you're up here and not down there helping out!" Wendy couldn't help but wince at the thought of some demon hurting her friend on purpose.

The boy hesitated instead of laughing, rubbing his arm lightly in thought. "Um, can I ask you something weird?"

"Yeah, sure. Fire away."

"Did you... Did you notice I was not myself?"

Wendy took a good hard look at the preteen, noting the dark bags under his eyes, the way he seemed so nervous about hearing the answer to that question. It was as if he thought she had just ignored his oddities the whole time he was possessed - oh. _Oh._

"Yeah, actually. I noticed right when you called me Red. I mean, who does that? I thought it was really weird and I even asked you about those cuts of yours, but you said the pain was funny."

Dipper glanced at her in surprise, but she could have sworn he seemed pleased that _somebody_ had guessed he wasn't himself. And that was what made her heart swell in pride.

"Y-Yeah, Bill seemed to think hurting me was funny. Did he really call you Red? What did you say?"

"Well, I didn't say anything out loud. But if I had, you know I would have said to you, 'Dipper, if you call me that one more time, I'm going to punch you right in the...!' "

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><p><strong>I hope I did your request justice, dear reviewer!<strong>

**Any more requests?**


	5. A New Beginning

**I felt like we needed a more light-hearted one-shot after the four semi-dark ones I've done so far. I haven't visited any of the episodes in Season 1 as of yet, so I will be doing a "deleted" scene in between Tourist Trapped and The Legend of the Gobblewonker.**

**Enjoy the newest one-shot!**

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><p><strong>A New Beginning<strong>

There was a surprising calm in the early morning air in the forest, something unusual for a strange town like Gravity Falls. A slight fog misted and rose off of the grass as the sun slowly began its journey upward. Despite it being summertime, the air was a little chilly in the early morning.

Inside the Mystery Shack attic, two preteen children were sleeping in their beds soundly. Mabel was tucked under her covers tightly, her stuffed tiger and new grappling hook held against her chest. She shifted in her sleep, her dreamscape filled with romance and no-gnomes-pretending-to-be-humans boyfriends. She smiled in her dreams, enjoying how one of her admirers professed his love to her.

Dipper, on the other hand, was clutching the journal close with both hands, his brow furrowed as his dreamscape spun with monsters and creatures alike making appearances. He unconsciously curled inward a bit on himself, warnings whispering their way into the back of his head. _Trust no one. In Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust._

It was when the voices began to grow louder in volume that he started breathing heavier, his grip tightening on the journal as he revisited the previous day's adventure in his dream. _Trust NO ONE._

What about Mabel, though? Couldn't he trust his own sister? She had saved their butts yesterday, after all.

_In Gravity Falls, there is no one you can trust..._

"Not... true..." Dipper mumbled in his sleep, struggling to ignore the whispering. They echoed loudly in his mind as he shifted in the bed.

_Trust no one._

"No!" Dipper's brown eyes shot open and he swallowed hard, calming down as he realized where he was. His gaze darted over to Mabel, who was still fast asleep in her dreams of romance. His body - which had been tense a moment prior - relaxed at the sight and he sighed heavily to himself.

The boy glanced down at his tight grip on Journal 3 and was grateful his sister was not awake to tease him (although she herself was sleeping with a grappling hook, so she'd be one to talk) as he set the book next to him. The gleam off of the bronze hand on the cover caught his eye, and he wondered for the hundredth time who could have written such an intriguing journal. Why did they stop writing? Why did they abandon their journal in the woods? Who were they?

_Easy there,_ he told himself, eyes flitting to his alarm clock for a second. _It's only six in the morning. There will be time to think about this later._

Dipper stole another look at his twin sister, this time allowing a smile to grace his face as he watched her giggle happily in her sleep. Whatever she was dreaming about _probably boys,_ he thought to himself) it appeared to be good and she was enjoying it. At least she wasn't having nightmares about gnomes chasing her or something.

At that memory, the preteen winced and combed back through his recollection of yesterday's events. After being convinced that something was off about Mabel's boyfriend Norman, he had rushed into the forest to protect her. Of all the things attacking his sister, little bearded men who wanted her to marry them was definitely not one of the first things that had come to mind. And yet that was exactly what he found.

Needless to say, the gnomes had not appreciated his attempts to escape with his sister and had chased them to the Mystery Shack after creating a giant monstrous form out of all their little bodies. Luckily Mabel had thought on her feet and used the leaf blower on the gnomes to scare them off. Now Dipper was just hoping that that would hold them off long enough in case the creatures decided to return.

Dipper thought back to the journal, remembering how many creatures he had gotten mere glimpses at earlier when flipping through the pages. Zombies, ghosts, gnomes, some weird barf fairy... The list went on. He wondered if any of _those_ creatures would try and marry his twin again, and this made him frown. No, that would not do.

_Hopefully we'll be more prepared next time to fight them off_.

Next time. He was jumping to conclusions awfully fast for someone who had only just com across a supernatural creature as of yesterday afternoon. What on earth made him think that there would _be_ a next time?

Dipper' brown eyes flickered to his new blue and white trucker hat, which hung off of the headboard of the bed. He reached up and removed it, rubbing his fingers over the blue fabric of the pine tree with a small frown. His old hat was long gone now, somewhere in the woods with that one gnome who had clawed at his face and taken the hat with him. Something about this one called to him in a way, though. He didn't know how to explain it, but the boy felt like something had _wanted_ him to take this hat when they were choosing an item from the gift shop yesterday. A brief sense of wonder hit him and he wondered if his twin had felt something similar in the way he had.

A small smile crept onto Dipper's face at the memory and he nearly laughed when he remembered the gnomes swearing revenge.

Next time.

Mabel shifted in her sleep, muttering something incomprehensible, and her younger brother couldn't stop himself from chuckling quietly. She was probably dreaming of vampires or boys again.

Dipper glanced at the journal as his thoughts turned away from his sibling, the gnomes coming back to mind after yesterday's incident. _Were_ there more supernatural oddities lurking about in the town? Ghosts? Goblins? Maybe even a zombie or two? He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something mysteries going on, something bigger than just a simple journal and a bunch of crazy gnomes, and he wanted to find out what it was.

_Next time, though,_ he thought to himself with a smile, _we'll be ready._

After all, if he couldn't trust Mabel, who could he trust in Gravity Falls?

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><p><strong>...I don't know, I just felt like Dipper's thoughts post-gnome-incident were needed.<strong>

**Any requests?**


	6. Alone

**Not one but TWO requests in 24 hours?! You all are truly amazing. How do you come up with brilliant requests so fast?**

**From I'mWishingforaStarRod: "Can you do a chapter on Stanley Pines? He's my favorite theory :)"**

**Of course! While I am not completely on board with all of the Twin Theory, Stanley is an entertaining thought I cannot refuse. I feel like Stanford was more like Mabel (cheerful and extroverted) when they were children and Stanley would be more like Dipper (introverted and bookish), and since Mabel and Dipper get upset sometimes when the other goes off with their friends, I imagine it would be the same sort of ordeal with these two. I'll be going off of those headcanons for this one-shot. Hopefully I do the two justice. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Alone<strong>

He didn't understand that word. _Alone._ Alone was when you felt like you had no one, you felt like you had no one to help you or make you smile or laugh. Alone was when no one understood you, when you were an outcast in your own home. Alone was wanting to be by yourself to think over things, to have some privacy for even a couple minutes.

He didn't understand why his brother acted as if he were alone. After all, his brother was a twin, and twins were never alone! How could Stanley be alone when he had a brother to help him out when he was feeling sad? The ten year old boy didn't understand why Stanley was so distant at times, as if he were hiding something. Twins shouldn't hide things from each other; what was the point of being joined at the hip if they weren't sharing secrets and being there for one another?

It was a few weeks before Stanford confronted his brother on these feelings of loneliness. Between the school bullies and constant reminders from Pop to "man up", he was rather busy dealing with his own problems. It was only after Stanley hurried off to the bedroom the two shared after finishing homework and shut the door quickly before his twin could follow that Stanford felt as if it were time to talk with Stanley.

Stanford hesitated for a few minutes at the door, unsure whether to knock or just enter. It was a silly thought, really - it was his bedroom too! - but he couldn't help the nervous bubble slowly forming inside his heart, ready to burst. What if Stanley told him to go away?

He decided to just go for it and opened the door, wincing at the small creak in the hinges. His brother was sitting on his bed, reading from some mystery book. He did not appear to have noticed his twin enter the room.

Stanford crept closer, shutting the door behind him in case his twin bolted again. He plastered a smile on his face and said, "Hey, Stanley! Whatcha reading?"

Stanley didn't even look up from the novel, much to his brother's disappointment. "The Case of the Cape Capers."

"Is it any good?" Stanford asked after a few moments of awkward silence. He cringed inwardly at the question; since when did he care about his brother's weird mystery novels?

Stanley's lips twitched as if he were fighting back a smile. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

He laughed awkwardly to stall for time, trying not to feel as if he were searching for the right words to say. He was terrible with these sorts of things.

"No reason! Just curious, you know."

Stanley's eyes finally left the book, glancing at his own identical pair of brown irises.

"Why are you really asking?"

Dang it.

Stanford rubbed the back of his neck and sighted, the shag carpet floor suddenly becoming ten times more interesting than it had been mere moments ago. "I just... You seem like you've been avoiding me, that's all. You say you want to be left alone. Did I do something wrong?"

His brother's eyes widened and he set down the book in surprise. "What? No, not at all! Why would you think that, Stanford?"

"Well, when people want to be alone, they usually feel sad," Stanford said carefully, so as not to accidentally offend his brother. "They don't want to be around other people."

Stanley straightened from where he sat, a frown slowly settling over his features. "I'm not sad, Stanford. I just like to think on my own sometimes."

Stanford nodded, but wasn't any less anxious over the situation. "I know, I know! You're weird like that!" His twin protested, but the tension lifted slightly at his playful tone. "But you're _always_ off reading or thinking now. I don't... um, I don't like it."

His twin frowned deeper. Any sign of playfulness left his expression and Stanford could tell he was thinking extra hard.

"You're lonely?"

That word sounded ominous. Stanford never liked to use that word; he had never really liked the sound of being _lonely_. After all, with a twin you were never supposed to be lonely? So how could he be lonely?

"No. I'm not lonely! I'm just...wanting to spend more time with my knucklehead brother who won't get his head out of his mystery books anymore."

Despite the playful jab, Stanley didn't laugh or smile. Instead he raised an eyebrow and some strange look came into his eyes.

"So you're lonely...?"

Stanford frowned. Didn't he just say that he _wasn't _lonely? What part about this did his twin not get?

Stanley snorted and shook his head. "Stanford, you're describing all of the symptoms of being lonely. You want to spend more time with me, right?"

The other twin adjusted his glasses, feeling terribly confused, and just nodded wordlessly.

"I get lonely too, it's okay. I guess that is kinda my fault for leaving you alone a lot, sorry." Stanley snorted again. "I just needed some space. School has... It's gotten a bit harder, if you know what I mean."

Stanford understood what his twin meant quickly: the bullies were bothering him as well.

"Pop wants to sign me up for boxing lessons - _boxing lessons!_ - but I don't want to, so I'm just trying to think of a way to convince him I don't need them. That's why I've been thinking a lot."

"That's all?" Stanford couldn't help but feel incredulous. "There's an easy solution to this, you know, little brother."

"We're the same age! I'm not younger than you!"

Stanford ignored the protest and continued speaking over his brother. "I could switch places with you! No one will know the difference! I've always wanted to try boxing, and maybe this will convince Pop you don't need them if you do good on a few lessons!"

Stanley thought it over with a frown, adjusting his glasses upon his nose. "Well, if you put it like that..."

"It'll be great!" Stanford added, feeling excited the longer he contemplated showing Pop he could "man up". What could go wrong?

His brother sighed, a small grateful smile spreading on his face. "Alright. I'm sure Pop wouldn't notice the difference between us if we traded places for a _few_ lessons..."

"See? It's genius!" Stanford punched the other's shoulder teasingly, watching Stanley chuckle at his blatant excitement. "We can't pass up an opportunity to pull another switch! Remember the last time? When we were eight and Aunt Kate wanted to take me to feed the ducks?"

"Yeah, you mean when she fell asleep and left _me_ to do all the feeding?" groaned his twin. "How could I ever forget?"

Stanford laughed. "Oh, right! That was hilarious!"

"For _you!"_

"So when does Pop want to begin lessons?"

Stanley sighed heavily. "Next Tuesday. Try not to act too happy when you go; I was a bit irritable when he brought it up, so he'll be suspicious if you look all excited."

"Don't worry! He won't notice a thing!"

Strangely, neither twin mentioned the previous sense of loneliness that no longer lingered in the atmosphere. Both would fiercely deny the first part of the conversation ever occurred.

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><p><strong>Did I do alright? Writing younger!Stan was surprisingly hard, ugh.<strong>

**I'll post the next one-shot later on. In the meantime, any more requests?**


	7. In The Dark Gloom

**From Captain Kitty5459: "I love your story! It is awesome how you add character thoughts to the episodes. Anyways, could you write one with Grunkle Stan's thoughts during the end of Gideon Rises and the beginning of Scaryoke (when he's opening the portal)? Thanks"**

**Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the one-shots! As for your request, why not? All aboard the feels train! (because I love episodes with major feels whoops and Stan is a major source for this)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>In The Dark Gloom<strong>

Stan would never admit it aloud, but he had grown to care for his great-niece and great-nephew more than he had expected (to be honest, he had never anticipated liking the two at _all_, but life was crazy like that). The protective urge in his gut hissed at him to go check on the kids after this whole fiasco with Gideon (thank goodness _that_ was taken care of now) so after giving it a couple hours, he found himself at the attic door, peering in cautiously.

Mabel was already setting up her posters and unpacking the monstrous bag carrying her sweaters (gosh, how did she fit all of those in there?), and Dipper was rifling through his own suitcase. Both looked up at the sound of the door opening and Stan stuck his head in further, trying not to appear awkward as his great-niece greeted him cheerfully.

"Uh, you kiddos settlin' back in okay?"

"Yep! All my favorite moldy spots on the ceiling are still there!" Mabel chirped, looking up at the ceiling with a wide smile. "Even you, Daryl."

Okay, maybe she was a bit odd sometimes, but hey, it ran in the family.

Dipper shifted nervously, as if trying to think of the best way to speak his mind. "Hey, Grunkle Stan? Me and Mabel have been talking, and I think there's something we should finally tell you."

Well, this was new. Stan decided to humor the kid and sat down on the edge of his bed, watching as the twins came to his side. Wait, what was Dipper handing him, some sort of book - ?

Stan felt all of the air leave his lungs in one second as he took in the sight of the number three upon the cover of the worn journal. No, it couldn't be. After all these years... How on earth had the kid found it?

He silently flipped through the pages, tuning out his great-nephew's speech as he took in the sight of the creatures and supernatural oddities on each page. It was all here. Memories stirred in the depths of his brain, memories of his portal under the Shack, and he knew he couldn't tell the kids what this truly was. He couldn't drag them into this mess, not when he was suddenly so close to getting what he wanted.

"I'm glad you showed me this, Dipper," he said quietly, closing the book. At least that part would be sincere.

Within moments, he was laughing, plastering a smile upon his face. "Hah! Now I know where you've been getting it all from! Spookums and monsters. This kooky book has been filling your head with crazy conspiracies!"

Stan forced himself to ignore the ache in his heart at the sound of the boy protesting as he ruffed the younger's hair. _It's for his own good._ "You gotta quit reading this fantasy nonsense for your own good. Although some of these would make great attractions! Can't come up with this stuff! Mind if I borrow this?"

As he spoke, he was already heading towards the door, fully intending to hide his newfound discovery from his great-nephew. He couldn't let him keep it, not after everything that had happened so long ago. What if something happened to him or his sister?

He continued scoffing and laughing at the journal, even after he made it to his office and locked the journal in his safe. He had to be careful, after all.

Stan knew he couldn't ignore the third journal (and the second, which he had stolen finally from Gideon earlier) but he couldn't go work on his project under the Mystery Shack just yet. Not while daylight was still present and the twins were awake. Later.

**INTHEDARKGLOOMINTHEDARKGLOOMINTHEDARKGLOOMINTHEDARKGLOOM**

Stan breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the elevator, having waited until the dead of night (when he was absolutely certain that both of the kids were asleep) to descend down into the gloom of the vending machine lab. He moved to his desk, pointedly not looking at the photograph of two familiar twelve year old faces sitting in plain sight, and withdrew the first journal from inside. A sense of both ecstasy and dread filled his heart as he realized how close he was now.

_It'll all be over soon, kids. I promise._

"After all these years..." he murmured, setting the journal down on the desk once more. He placed the others of the trio beside it, memories swirling in his head as he stared down at the three things he had searched for long and hard for so long.

"Finally, we have them all."

He opened each to _the_ page, the page with the blueprints written on it, and placed them all together as they formed the shape of a familiar machine. He carefully typed in all of the coordinates written, praying he didn't stumble now.

A sudden bright glow came from in front of him, and Stan's eyes widened in shock as he took in the sight of the portal aglow with blue light. _It's really happening. It's really happening!_

"It's working!"

Stan leapt out of his chair and tore into the room with his beloved machine, the cold floor under his worn slippers seeming to buzz with energy as he ran. He stared up into the portal, fumbling for the switch and grunting as he pushed with all of his strength left in his body. Gosh, he was getting too old for this.

The portal glowed brighter, the coordinates he had missed calculating themselves into the machine's network. He found himself holding his breath as he waited. He watched as the blue glow nearly blinded him, bursting as everything finally began shifting into play.

He placed his hands on his hips, a broad smile creeping onto his face.

"Here we go."

The machine continued to work as he stared proudly up into the light. He had never felt so satisfied and ecstatic in... well, in a _very_ long time. Stan found himself beginning to talk to himself aloud through the humming of the portal.

"Thirty years, and it's all led up to this. My greatest achievement!" He glanced down and frowned at the sight of his pajamas. Oh.

"Probably should've worn pants."

A burst of fire leapt from the machine, hitting the aged man on the shoulder. He cried out and patted it out before allowing himself to smile.

"Feisty. I like it."

He hurried back to his desk, pulling a few switches as he felt the machine practically purr in reply. Yes, everything was definitely good.

"If I finally pull this off, it'll all have been worth it." Stan sat down in his chair, thinking out loud more to himself than anything. "I just have to keep playing it cool, if anyone finds out about this..."

His thoughts and gaze shifted to the twins, his brown eyes finding the picture on his desk for the first time that night. A sense of guilt filled his heart as he recalled Dipper's pleas for him to believe him. Hopefully he could make it up to the kid later. He didn't need to keep the third journal forever, after all. Maybe he'd make a few photocopies of the pages he required still.

The man forced himself to scoff as he donned the six-fingered glove and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I've come this far. Who could possibly catch me now?"

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><p><strong>Feels, anyone?<strong>

**Stan & the twins feels are the worst... and the most fun to write. I hope I did a decent job of writing your request, Captain Kitty5459!**

**Any requests?**


	8. When It All Falls Down

**_MORE_ REVIEWS & REQUESTS?! You all are going to make me cry, thank you so much!**

**From I'mWishingforaStarRod: "How about McGucket thirty years ago when he was so guilty he lost his mind?"**

**Oh no, another trip down into the land of feels... Brilliant! (You're welcome for the last one-shot you asked for, by the way, I am so glad you liked it!) This one will be set before he makes the memory eraser and but after that little incident we haven't learned much about yet. Sorry if I'm a bit vague in the description of his family and the incident and the author, but until we learn more about what happened, I'm trying to keep things a bit vague so we can all theorize together.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>When It All Falls Down<strong>

So many lies. Fiddleford ran a hand through his unkempt hair, feeling the familiar shivers run down his spine as the memories swirled about in his head. So many things left unsaid. So many things he should have done - but didn't.

It was too late now. He had left the author, the man he had thought he could trust, and now for the first time in a long time, Fiddleford had no idea what to do with himself. The guilt was eating him alive, tearing into his heart like the razor sharp claws of a bear.

His mother had always told him he would get into trouble due to his curiosity. _Curiosity killed the cat!_ she would say sternly, glaring down at the young boy. _You wouldn't want to be that cat, now would you?_

He had never felt so small in his life, so weak and pathetic.

_What had he done?_

Fiddleford swallowed back his fright and glanced at the closed bathroom door, hearing the sounds of his wife and son from the kitchen, making dinner together. He remembered when he had been there too, helping stir the water in the pot (because while he could help create laptops and portals to other dimensions, apparently the inventor was a klutz when it came to cooking). He remembered watching his boy laugh at his goofy antics, his beautiful wife shaking her head as she held back a grin of amusement.

Why did it seem so long ago? It couldn't have been more than a few years, and he had only recently left the author.

He felt his stomach churn and the man lowered his head over the sink, shutting his eyes tightly as he trembled. It was all so _wrong._ This wasn't supposed to happen, it shouldn't have gone so terribly _wrong._

And yet it had.

The man vomited into the sink, praying his wife didn't hear and come to investigate as he slowly let the water run and wash the bile down the drain. He watched the filth go, despite how disgusting it was, feeling his heart sinking with it too.

_What have you done, Fiddleford?_

A burst of laughter reached his ears, making bile rise to his throat again for a new reason entirely. They sounded so happy without him. Maybe they had been happier when he wasn't here, constantly locked in his lab or the bathroom as regret and guilt consumed him.

"I'm sorry," Fiddleford mumbled, shutting his eyes once more and leaning his forehead against the counter, ignoring how his glasses began sliding off his long nose. "I'll make this right. I'll fix this. I promise."

If only he knew how.

**WHENITALLFALLSDOWNWHENITALLFALLSDOWNWHENITALLFALLSDOWNWHENITALLFALLSDOWNWHENITALLFALLSDOWN**

_It was dark and cold_._ He felt as if he had been here many times before, but he couldn't quite recall when or why. He could not see anything other than a faint blue light up ahead. Curious, he wondered if it led to the way out._

_ He hurried towards it, eyes everywhere in the darkness as he tried not to notice the shivers running up and down his spine. Something was wrong. He didn't like where this was going. Something about the blue light felt familiar...but it also terrified him for some unknown reason. He had been here before - why couldn't he remember where he was?_

_ The light suddenly grew blindingly bright and he caught a glimpse of a rope at his feet, slowly inching its way towards the light. A frightening scream arose from the blue glow ahead, and the sense of foreboding grew. He rushed for the rope, intending to pull whatever it was out, but his feet were stuck. He was paralyzed, unable to move a hair from where he stood._

_ Panic overtook his heart as he gazed into the light and realized a human figure was attached to the rope, coming into view and reaching for him as it screamed. He wanted to move, he wanted to save him, he wanted to end this but he could do nothing. He was useless, helpless, pathetic, heartless - _

Fiddleford awoke with a loud scream, clutching his chest with trembling pale hands. He pulled himself up from where he had fallen asleep sitting on the toilet and buried his face in his hands. It was just a nightmare, it was the same as all the others he had been having for a few weeks now.

He had been kicked out of the bedroom due to these terrors, the annoyance and sadness in his wife's eyes as she told him to find another place to sleep haunting his fluttering heart. Thankfully, the bathroom's walls appeared to muffle his screams well so his son didn't wake up. This didn't make him feel any better whenever he had another nightmare though.

_Calm down. Think rationally._

How could he possibly be rational at a time like this? After everything he had done?

A low sob escaped Fiddleford's hoarse throat and he gripped the sides of his face as he shuddered. He tried to hold back the turmoil inside but it was no use, as usual. Within minutes, he broke down like a small child, trying hard to muffle his sobs with his hands.

He had been so wrong. He should never have trusted the author.

How could he live with himself after this?

_I wish I didn't remember anything that happened,_ he thought miserably, scrubbing fiercely at his burning eyes.

And in that moment, an idea bloomed from the depths of a poor man's guilt and regrets.

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><p><strong>...Kind of short, sorry, but I hope you liked it! Poor Fiddleford. He gives me too many feels on a daily basis.<strong>

**Any requests?**


	9. The Fighter

**I'm trying to finish these as quick as possible for you all, but you have such good ideas that I have to think them over for a bit before writing them down. Especially ones that aren't canon. These are so much fun, though, and I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying them!**

**From The-epic-Lemon: "I wouldn't mind seeing a post sock opera scene from Stan's perspective, but if not that's totally cool as well!"**

**Yes, that is _completely_ fine, don't worry! I love requests, and Sock Opera is one episode I definitely do not mind writing about (has to be my favorite episode of this new season so far). Stan & Dipper's relationship is my favorite too, so kudos to you!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>The Fighter<strong>

Mabel's worried brown eyes were haunting Stan. He sighed for the umpteenth time and rubbed the bridge of his large nose out of exhaustion. He couldn't forget the way his great-niece had looked at him mere hours ago, exclaiming that they had to get him to the hospital, he was seriously hurt and tired, he needed medical help. And while Stan hated hospitals (he had never liked how clean and annoyingly polite they were) he knew that he couldn't ignore her cries.

She wasn't wrong either. Dipper had looked absolutely exhausted when the twins met up with them outside the theater, and he had quickly fallen asleep once they got into Stan's car. The sense of worry lingered over the atmosphere of the vehicle as the man drove faster than he normally did over the speed limit, glancing in the mirror every so often to check on Mabel and Dipper.

Now it was well past eleven o'clock and Stan had told Soos to take Mabel and her pig home to the Shack while he stayed overnight with his great-nephew. Wendy had promised to come in early, to his astonishment, to watch Mabel with Soos, who would be staying over at the Shack.

Despite how lazy the red-haired teen usually acted, he couldn't help but feel a rush of relief at her vow. Mabel would be alright. She had Soos and Wendy to take care of her.

All he had to worry about now was Dipper.

The thought made him cringe outwardly. He was sitting outside the hospital room by request of the blonde nurse who had shown him to the room, and he had never felt so nervous in all his life. If someone asked him whether he would be so concerned over his great-nephew at the start of the summer, he would have laughed in their face.

There was no way he would make that mistake now.

How on earth had the kid managed to get himself so banged up in the first place? Sure, he had looked tired in the morning (those dark bags under his eyes had been kinda funny too) but when they had carried the boy into the hospital, Stan had noticed scratches and bruises all over his arms and his neck. He had no doubt in his mind that they probably were all over his body, given by how worried Mabel had been over his state. She wouldn't say what had happened (he highly doubted the fight the two had onstage was the main cause of these injuries, to be honest) and it was starting to bug the old man. Had something occurred backstage during the show?

Oh, no - how was he going to explain this mess to the kids' parents?

"Mr. Pines?"

Stan's head swiveled to the blonde who had shown him in. She flashed him a polite apologetic smile as he stood quickly, ignoring the ache in his back (_ugh_, he was getting _old_).

"What is it? Is he alright?"

"Your great-nephew is going to be fine, Mr. Pines," she assured him and his heart lifted slightly in relief. "He has many cuts that could get infected, though, and it would appear he is sleep-deprived, given how long he has been napping these past hours. Would you like to see him?"

Stan nodded immediately and followed her into the hospital room. He swallowed back his panic at the sight of all the tubes and how pale and small Dipper looked on the hospital bed. They had changed the twelve year old into a hospital gown and he appeared to be breathing steadily as he slept, the heart monitor beside his bed beeping every so often.

A balding man smiled politely at him, holding a clipboard as he stood next to Dipper. "Ah, Mr. Pines! Thank you, Rachel." The blonde nurse nodded and left, glancing back at Stan with an unreadable expression.

"I know you wanted to see your great-nephew, Mr. Pines," the doctor said, his gaze turning back to the sleeping figure on the bed. "However, due to how alarming these injuries were, I just wanted to ask a few questions concerning his...accident."

Stan stiffened, moving closer to Dipper involuntarily. This was the absolute last thing he wanted to do right now. "How about I ask a question of my own: will I be able to take him home tomorrow morning?"

"Y-Yes, if his condition hasn't worsened, which I doubt it will," the doctor stammered. He was surprised by Stan's forward nature and the hard look in the elder's eyes. "But, I was wondering how this happened. Could you possibly explain - ?"

"No, I don't think that's my place." He himself didn't know the full details, but like _heck_ was he going to let the other know that.

"Mr. Pines, there were cuts on his arms - "

"Yeah, he got bruised up." Stan snorted. "Tell me something I don't know."

"It would appear that the cuts were from forks, however," the doctor managed to get out before Stan continued. His posture was stiff now too, and both men were silent for a moment.

Forks? He had to be kidding. What on earth would Dipper do with _forks_ that would cause cuts that deep? Stab himself with them?

"Look, don't you have some paperwork to fill out or something?" snapped Stan, unable to find a good response to this revelation.

The man gave him a look of pity that caused him to feel even more infuriated. "I will check in on you both in the morning. Get some rest, sir. I can tell it has been a long night for you. Your great-nephew is safe now."

As the doctor left the hospital room though, Stan felt as if he were never going to sleep again. Was the kid really okay? What had happened to cause this, to put the preteen boy in the _hospital_ of all places?

With a soft sigh, he sat down in the chair beside the kid's bed, looking sadly down at his pale face. Even asleep, he looked as if he were in pain.

Stan's eyes darted to Dipper's noodle-like arms and he bit his lip, not wanting to believe what the doctor had told him. There was no way those cuts were from forks...right?

He hesitantly picked up the boy's nearest arm and flinched at the sight of the bandages wrapped around it in various places. He lifted away part of the bandage, not wanting to hurt him, and frowned when he noticed one of the cuts underneath the cloth. It actually _did_ appear that the boy had been stabbed by a fork.

That was odd, and a little bit alarming.

"Come on, knucklehead," Stan muttered, redoing the bandages on his arm before placing it back down gently. "You're stubborn, you can fight through this. Heck, I don't know how you're still alive what with how badly your sister was reacting to these scrapes."

He paused, staring down at the brunette's closed eyes. What he wouldn't give to know that Dipper was well and truly alright - and not from some crummy doctor or nurse.

"That's one of the things you do best, kid. When the world fights, you fight back. Reminds me of how I was when I was your age. But the point is...I just - uh, _your sister_ just wanted to know that you're okay. You and I both know you're stronger than this, Dipper."

He looked down at his lap, closing his tired eyes and groaning softly. He was growing a bit tired, especially with how many late nights he had had working on the portal below the Mystery Shack.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan..."

With a start, Stan's head shot up and his eyes went wide at the sight of familiar brown eyes fluttering open to peer up at him. Somewhere in his heart, something inside melted a little and his throat tightened uncomfortably.

He was _okay_.

"Hey, kid."

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><p><strong>Oh, I love these two so much. Stubborn knuckleheads...<strong>

**Thank you all for reviewing, by the way! I'm floored by how many of you have requested one-shots, and I am so happy that you're enjoying them! You all are amazing.**


	10. Stand

**From TwistingMoonbeam: "If you wouldn't mind, I have a request, if you're still taking them: A dabble about Grunkle Stan accidentally stumbling upon Dipper getting bullied, and defending and comforting him?"**

***screeches in joy* Yes! More Stan & Dipper! I may or may not have gotten carried away with this idea (sorry not sorry)**

**Enjoy this one-shot!**

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><p><strong>Stand<strong>

One thing Gravity Falls didn't have, unlike his home in Piedmont, was the variety of bullies. Dipper and his sister weren't the most popular or the best-looking kids in the school; in fact, they were more well-known as the "weird" kids. Mabel's occasional odd behaviors rewarded her with some taunts and whispers behind her back, while Dipper's brains and preference for solitude during recess earned him some shoving and name-calling. The more frequent of the bullies grew to learn that if you messed with one twin, you offended the other, so that was normally all it took to persuade them to leave. Sometimes, unfortunately, this was only encouraging and caused both siblings more heartache.

Here in this small town, however, he hadn't experienced much bullying (unless you counted Robbie and the name-calling from Pacifica to Mabel). That was part of the reason why he loved Gravity Falls so much. For one summer, he didn't have to worry about running into his classmates and trying avoid human contact as he read his books alone.

Until one of the last days of July, that is.

Dipper had been reading his journal, studying the pages involving some sort of hybrid cross between a beaver and a pig (_Mabel would love this_, he thought to himself with a smirk) as he sat in the park. Mabel and Wendy had decided to have some girl-bonding time, and Soos had to stay home to take care of his grandmother who had a high fever. Who knew where Grunkle Stan was - probably shoplifting or swindling tourists - so the preteen had decided to have some time to himself for once. Besides, it was a beautiful day outside. There was no use being cooped up indoors when the sun was shining.

Just as he noticed a new cryptic message on the bottom of one of the pages, something slammed into his left shoulder hard. He cried out in shock and pain, dropping the journal onto the ground. Dipper looked down and saw that the missile had been a baseball.

"Hey, sorry about that! Didn't see you there, dork!"

Dipper winced at the name, picking up the baseball and meeting the eyes of three boys a little older than he was. He tossed it back and rubbed his aching shoulder to try and relieve the pain. "That's okay. I probably should have been paying attention."

"What's this? Is it yours?"

The boy glanced over to see what the tallest was holding and his heart thundered in his chest in panic. _The journal._

"Uh, y-yes. Can I have - ?"

The trio snickered as they saw what he was reading about. "What is this? A Peaver?" teased one with shaggy blond hair. "Sounds like some sort of fantasy junk."

Dipper stood now, trying not to acknowledge the growing lump in his throat. "I, um, I was just reading. Can I have my journal back now?"

"_Can I have my journal back now_?" mimicked one of the boys quietly, earning more laughter at his behalf. "Gee, dork, you sound like it's your security blanket! What, is your mommy going to hurt me if I don't give you it?"

"H-Hey, please - !"

The tallest boy shoved him lightly, although Dipper knew immediately that he could have definitely shoved him much harder. "What are you gonna do, nerd? Huh?"

Dipper narrowed his eyes as the tall kid waved his beloved book above his head, a good foot or two out of the younger boy's reach, anger slowly settling in. He recalled a similar question asked in a similar fashion by Gideon and his blood boiled.

"Look, just give me my journal, okay?"

The group snickered louder, not intimidated by his words or tone.

"What are you gonna do? Punch us?" jeered the blond, a cruel smirk on his face.

"With _those_ noodle arms?" laughed the tallest boy. "I doubt it!"

"Leave me _alone!"_

Dipper's outburst made the trio go silent, all staring at him as he breathed heavily, trying to calm down. He had forgotten what it was like to deal with bullies, how easily it was to make his temper flare.

"Ooh, someone's got some bite," sneered the tall kid, still holding the journal over his head. "I don't see you doing anything about this stupid book of yours though, nerd. I guess you don't really want it."

He tossed it to the third boy, who dodged Dipper's reaching hand and shoved him hard onto the dirt. Dipper grimaced at the sound of laughter and made to get up, but a foot on his back pushed him back down roughly.

"What are you gonna do, huh?" crowed the blond, whose foot kept him in place. "Look at how stupid you are. Did you really think we were gonna give it back, dork?"

"You will if you don't want me to call your parents."

The low _familiar_ gruff voice made Dipper freeze, and the foot quickly removed itself from his back. The journal was tossed down at his face unkindly as the tallest boy said under his breath, "Don't think your grandpa can defend you everywhere, dork."

The sound of footsteps hurrying away across the grass let the preteen boy know it was okay to stand once more, and he avoided eye contact with his great-uncle, whom he knew was standing behind him. He brushed the dirt and grass off of the journal, shoving it back into his vest.

"You alright, kid?"

Dipper flinched involuntarily at the question, not turning to meet Stan's eyes still. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He hoped that would deter the old man enough from asking more, but he had no such luck. A hand - surprisingly gentle - landed on his left shoulder and he cried out softly in pain as he remembered the baseball's blow. Stan lightened his grip on the shoulder a little at the realization that his family was in pain.

"Did they hit you?"

"No, their baseball did. It was an accident." He didn't know why, but he felt more defensive of the bullies now that they were gone.

There was an awkward tense silence in which Dipper shrugged the hand off of his shoulder and rubbed it as inconspicuously as possible. He couldn't help the stinging of tears in his eyes or the pink flush to his cheeks. He had embarrassed himself in front of Stan, and now he probably thought he was related to a pathetic wimp. Awesome.

"Do they do this?"

Dipper frowned, glancing back to see Stan's unreadable expression looking down at him. "Huh?"

"Bullies back home. Do they push you around too? Call you names?"

He couldn't stop himself from gaping at his great-uncle for a moment before he came to his senses and shut his mouth quickly. "I d-don't know what you're talking about," he lied quietly.

Stan's gaze softened, surprising Dipper even more. "Kid, I'm not dumb. I know when someone's been bullied before."

It took another moment or two for the preteen boy to process the statement and realize what he meant. He remembered his great-uncle's mind, the memory of being bullied at school as a child coming to light. Oh. Of _course_ he knew what being bullied was like. Dipper turned away and said nothing.

"Look, Dipper," Stan knelt down, resting his hand on the boy's right shoulder, the one that didn't throb in pain. "I, uh, I know you probably have dealt with these things before but... ah..." The man groaned inwardly; he had never been good at these sort of talks.

Dipper didn't respond, merely listening half-heartedly to whatever his great-uncle was struggling to convey.

A sudden idea came to Stan, one that made him both hesitant and determined to go through with it.

"Tell you what: tomorrow morning, I'll teach you how to box."

_That _got the tween's attention. He whipped around in shock, eyes wide as golf balls.

"Wh-What? Why?" He then frowned as suspicions of what this implied danced in his head.

"Wait, you're only giving me a lesson because you think I can't handle myself, aren't you...?"

Stan's eyes widened now. "What - ? No, no! Kid, I know you can handle yourself. Your sister told me all about that fight you had with Gideon with his robot. I'd have to be crazy not to say that you can."

Dipper's blush was from both embarrassment that Mabel had told Stan about that incident and due to the fact that he may have just been complimented by _Stan_ of all people. "Um, th-thanks...?"

"What I'm trying to say," the elder man continued, trying not blush himself out of slight embarrassment, "is that I know you can handle yourself around these bullies. I just think you could handle it _better_. My old pop made _me_ learn how to box, and it actually helped me out in time. Maybe it'll help you too."

Now the twelve year old was _really_ blushing bright pink. "I... Alright."

Stan coughed awkwardly after a moment, standing and rubbing the back of his neck. "...Right. Well, we'd better head back to the Shack. I think it might rain later on."

As the older man began to walk away, his great-nephew hesitated to follow. He thought over Stan's offer carefully, remembering how Gideon and he had fought not so long ago in that robot. Maybe boxing wouldn't be that bad of an idea...

"Hey, Grunkle Stan?"

Stan stopped and turned around, his brow knit together in confusion. "Yeah?"

Dipper hesitated once more before allowing a small smile onto his face. "Thanks. For, um, helping me out back there."

It was amusing to see the con man flap his mouth uselessly for a minute as the boy began to walk towards the Shack, no longer waiting for his great-uncle. Of all the things to come out of the kid's mouth, for some reason, those particular ones touched something deep in his heart.

Stan finally smiled himself and chuckled before hurrying after Dipper. That kid was starting to grow on him.

_Fighting back..._

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><p><strong>I added far too many references to Dreamscaperers, and I regret nothing. :)<strong>

**Any requests?**


	11. What a Shame

**How on earth do you all come up with these ideas for requests so quickly? It's like magic! Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and requests.**

**From I'mWishingforaStarRod: "How about a lil Gideon chapter? Maybe something about family issues, meeting Bill again, or being a creepy stalker with his Mabel Shrine."**

**Ooh, interesting... Well, since Bill and Gideon only interact once canonically so far, I'm going to change that and write another interaction between the two (about a few days or so after Gideon Rises occurs). In other words, creepy antagonists have a little chat...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>What a Shame<strong>

You would think that after being beaten and thrown in a maximum security prison, Gideon Gleeful would have thought, "Perhaps revenge isn't worth this much trouble."

Unfortunately, this had only seemed to fuel the boy's desire for vengeance and power. In the few days he had been in the prison cell so far, he had been pacing up and down in the small room, muttering under his breath furiously. How _dare_ they deny him what he deserved? He had taken the Mystery Shack, and now they saw fit to tear it away from him when he had finally won?

"Mouth-breathing fools," he snarled quietly, his hands clenching into fists slowly.

Betrayed. Betrayed by ignorant person in this town, because they had been shown the truth by none other than Stanford Pines.

Oh, how he loathed Stanford! How on earth had he figured out his secret? Clearly the old man was more clever than Gideon had given him credit for.

"Curse Stan!" he growled, pausing his pacing long enough to glower at the town out his barred window. "Curse Dipper! Curse the whole family and this town! They're all fools! Curse Gravity Falls!"

"Geez, kid, you've got a lot of anger for such a little tyke!"

Gideon jumped and cried out, whipping around to realize the rest of the world had became monochrome without him noticing. An all-too-familiar yellow geometrical shape with a top hat was floating up high, twirling his black cane idly. All of Gideon's anger resurfaced, recovering from the brief shock he had felt moments ago as memories arose from mere days ago.

"You!"

Bill Cipher chuckled and floated down closer to the younger's face. "Glad you remember me, kid! Guess you're not so dumb after all."

Gideon gritted his teeth together, trying to keep his cool. He had always had trouble holding his temper.

"Why are you here? You're the reason I'm in here the first place!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Bill said, raising his one eyebrow. "Wasn't it Stan Pines who exposed your little camera system?"

The boy growled low under his breath. "You were the one who failed to give me the combination to the safe!"

Bill flashed a brilliant red for a moment, startling Gideon. But he quickly turned his regular yellow once more and pointed the cane directly in Gideon's face. "Point taken, kid. Ha, those kids were something, though! They're not quite as dumb as I thought. Particularly Pine Tree..."

"Pine - ?" Gideon recalled the pine tree on Dipper's hat. "You mean Dipper?" He practically spat out the name.

"Yup!" Bill turned and twirled the cane about. "The kid actually figured out the secret to the mindscape. I gotta admit, I'm impressed!"

Gideon's nostrils flared. He really didn't want to hear about Dipper Pines' accomplishments when he was in prison.

"I don't care about you being impressed! In case you haven't noticed, _Cipher_, I'm in _jail_. And it's all because of the Pines family!"

The triangle chuckled, enjoying how red the boy's face was and how angry he looked. "Orange's a good color on you, kid! As for your current _situation_, that's too bad! But, oh well! These things happen, kid."

Gideon couldn't believe what he was hearing. "_Excuse me_?"

"Let's just say, I've got big plans, and I don't need you getting in my way!" Again, Bill flashed scarlet red and his one eye narrowed. Gideon swallowed down his unease and glared right back at the demon.

"Oh well!" Bill turned yellow after a minute, the cane disappearing from his black hands. "I better be going. It was nice to have a little chat with ya, kid! Enjoy prison! Remember: **_reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold,__ BYE!_**"

In a blinding flash of light, the dream demon vanished. Gideon sat up from where he was on the floor and gasped at the brightness of the now colorful world before him. He rubbed his head and sat up, patting his hair to make sure it was still perfect.

He glanced behind him, half-expecting Bill Cipher to still be there, laughing at him. What had the infernal triangle meant when he said he had "big plans"? Was he planning something for the future of this town? How did this involve him?

Gideon scrambled to his feet as a faint cold laugh echoed in his head. He glared at the wall, knowing who the laugh belonged to, but nothing happened. Cipher appeared to be leaving him be - for now.

If the dream demon expected to take over the town easily, he was going to be sorely disappointed. The boy looked out the window and for the first time in days, a cruel smirk played on his lips.

"You haven't seen the last...of lil'...old...me..."

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><p><strong>Sorry, it's kind of short. Nevertheless, I hope you liked it!<strong>

**Any requests?**


	12. Lean on Me

**I just came back from watching "The Battle of the Five Armies" and while there were parts that were disappointing, the film actually succeeded in making me cry a few times (which, if you know me, is very hard to do). Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage were amazing, and their relationship is fantastic on-screen. It was worth it to go see that movie.**

**From mihane100: "If you're still doing the request thing, I was wondering if you could do one where Dipper has a really bad nightmare (about Bill hurting Mabel or something, perhaps? Or just something really really bad in general?) and wakes up screaming and crying, but Stan hears the scream and comes up to see if he's alright? Or maybe even Mabel waking up at his scream and going over to his bed to see what's up? You decide who it is. Either way, Dipper will be comforted and it would be adorable. :D"**

**Oh, no - you've found my greatest writing weakness: nightmares. How did you know I love writing nightmares? As for who awakens, how about a little bit of both...?**

**Enjoy the one-shot!**

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><p><strong>Lean on Me<strong>

_Running. He was running through the woods, eyes peering through the darkness and around trees, always watching him._

_ He had to get away. It was going to catch him. It was going to get him, oh gosh - _

_ His thoughts broke off at the sound of an inhumane roar close behind. A soft whimper left his throat at the realization that it was probably only feet away, and didn't dare turn around to check. He stumbled over a root and staggered only for a moment before sprinting away._

_ Heart hammering in his chest, he shoved away a particularly low branch that snapped off with a CRACK! when he grabbed it. He was gasping for air, chest heaving as he struggled to outrun the creature. He couldn't stop, he couldn't afford to slow down, he was going to die, it was getting closer - !_

_ "Dipper, my boy..."_

_ No. No, no, no._

_ "Come out!"_

Ignore it_, he told himself mentally, feeling sick to his stomach. That voice was so familiar, but the sinister undertone gave him chills. He knew what would happen once he was caught, he couldn't let that happen._

_ "I have to say, I'm impressed!"_

Go away_, he longed to scream. Tears ran down his cheeks freely, and for once he was not ashamed. _Leave me be!

_ "DIPPER!"_

_ He gave a loud scream as he was shoved to the ground, hitting the dirt hard as a pair of arms wrapped around his chest tightly. He squirmed and wriggled as it lifted him up, pulling him against its chest. He twisted his head around, nearly sobbing when he met a pair of yellow eyes with long slitted pupils._

_ "There you are, bro-bro!"_

_ It wasn't her. He knew it wasn't her, it was _him_,_ _but her voice..._

_ "Ready to have some real fun?"_

_ No. No, he didn't want to play this game._

_ He struggled harder, ignoring the giggle that arose from the brunette's throat at his actions. He didn't dare look back again, knowing it would only make this much worse._

_ "Leave her alone!" he cried out, his voice cracking due to his emotions getting the best of him. "Please!"_

_ He was thrown to the ground roughly, all of the air rushing out of his lungs. __A cold cackle met his ears, and he screamed in pain as he felt something sharp jabbing into his arms. Memories of forks stabbing through skin, aches all over his body, cuts on his cheeks..._

_ A hard pressure was on his shoulders, holding his shaking body down (not that he had the strength to run anyway). Another cackle filled the night air, and he shut his eyes tightly from both pain and the sting of tears in his eyes._

_ Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Why was he doing this to them both?_

It's your fault_, a whisper in the back of his mind made itself known. _He's hurting her because of you.

_ "Sorry, kid," hissed an all-too-familiar high-pitched voice in his ears, "but she's MY puppet now!"_

"DIPPER!"

The preteen boy screamed at the top of his lungs and thrashed, trying to shove the bed sheets off his body. Mabel drew back, shocked, only to hurry over and hug him close, trying to calm him down.

"Hey, hey! It's okay, Dippingsauce! No, it's okay! It's me! I'm right here!"

Shutting his eyes tightly, he sobbed, struggling less as despair began to consume him.

"It was just a nightmare, Dipper," his sister said softly, a sorrowful look creeping onto her face at the sight of the tears in his eyes. "It's okay now."

Dipper slowly calmed down, trembling violently, and turned to look at his twin hesitantly. Mabel gave him a weak smile and he broke at the sight of her familiar eyes - normal brown eyes, not yellow slits - staring back at him. He began to sob and Mabel turned him around gently so that he was facing her, clutching him close to her chest. Her heart ached as he cried, wrapping his arms around her tightly, as if he were afraid to let go.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she whispered, unsure what to say suddenly. While her twin had nightmares even when they both were small, he had never had one as bad as this. Seeing Dipper, the one who normally protected her and came up with all the plans, broken and crying... It snapped something inside of her.

"I-It was..." Dipper couldn't finish the sentence. Not when he remembered everything that had gone down with Bill only a week prior to now.

He had had nightmares ever since the "Bipper" incident, as his sister put it, but none had ever been so terrifying as this one. Usually he was just haunted by Bill's laughter or had a dream involving being trapped in that ghost-like state in the mindscape alone. Mabel hadn't seemed to notice them, since he hadn't ever woken up screaming or anything. He had hoped she wouldn't find out how badly they scared him, how frightened he was to go to sleep for fear of encountering Bill.

Mabel hugged him closer, rubbing her hand on his back like their mom had when the two were kids and they got scared of the thunderstorms outside. It seemed to comfort him, and he relaxed slightly, burying his face into her shoulder.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Mabel said after another moment of quiet sobs filled the air. Of course, she wanted him to tell her though. If the nightmare had been _that bad_, it had clearly scared her brother a lot.

Dipper swallowed hard, trying to control his rapidly beating heart. He hated how pathetic and childish this was, having nightmares and crying over them. Thankfully no one else was awake to see this.

"B-Bill... he possessed you... and he was chasing me, i-in your b-b-body and..."

His voice shook and broke off abruptly as the memory of the nightmare hit him full-force. He let out a soft sob and held onto Mabel tighter. It had felt so real. Mabel may have faced down Bill and freed him from Dipper's body, but she didn't know of the taunts and the injuries he had inflicted upon the body. She only knew Bill had hurt him on purpose because he thought it was funny. Dipper had yet to tell her of the details, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. He sucked in a deep breath in an effort to calm himself, wishing he had never made that deal with the dream demon.

Mabel's heart shattered as the realization of what the nightmare had been about hit her. She hugged him tighter too, feeling her throat constrict at the thought of Bill possessing _her_. She couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for her brother to be trapped outside his own body.

"It was only a nightmare, Dipper," she whispered. "Bill isn't here. I'm okay, see?"

His body still shook, despite her reassuring words. He was no longer crying, although tears still lingered on his cheeks, and he loosened his tight grip as he tried to ground himself with the fact that _she was okay, she was alive, Bill wasn't here_.

"It felt real," Dipper admitted weakly, not removing his face from where he had it buried in her shoulder. He felt so small, like he was five years old again and terrified of some monster under his bed.

Mabel smiled slightly at the hint of defensiveness in his voice. "It probably did. That's just Bill being a buttface, though. I'm here for you, and I'm not going to be possessed by some creepy demon anytime soon. Don't worry."

Dipper hesitated, wanting to whole-heartedly agree with her words. But the constant worry over her safety was always there, and he couldn't just banish it away by merely wishing it so.

"Is this the first time you've had a nightmare about it?"

He nearly groaned in exasperation. At times he forgot how observant his sister was, due to her silliness.

"N-No. I've just had smaller nightmares ever since..."

Mabel's eyes widened briefly and she pulled back to glare at her twin brother. "Dipper! You've had nightmares ever since the play, and you _didn't say anything_?"

He winced. "No... I didn't want you to worry!"

The way he blurted out the last bit didn't make her feel any less angry. Mabel groaned and said, "Dipper, I couldn't helped you before if you hadn't been so stubborn! No more hiding nightmares, alright?"

"Alright..."

She punched his shoulder, but it wasn't a hard punch. She had no desire to hurt him, after all, despite being angry.

"Good! Now, since we're both awake at - " Mabel glanced at her clock and scowled, " - four thirty in the morning, do you want to go back to sleep or start a game of attic stuff golf?"

Dipper looked at her in surprise at the latter suggestion, but after a moment of thought, his expression softened. The boy smiled and rubbed at his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to beat you. I've been practicing!"

His sister's eyes lit up and she snorted, hurrying over to grab clubs. "No way! I'm the golf champion, remember?"

The two laughed happily, not noticing the pair of brown eyes peering through the crack of their slightly open attic door. They would never see the way Stan smiled softly, having awoken at the sound of screaming and running to go check up on the twins in a panic only to find that the older girl had it under control. They would never know that he watched them play and laugh for a good ten minutes before heading as quietly as possible down the stairs (avoiding the creaky steps) to go back to bed.

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><p><strong>I got a little carried away with the dream, sorry. I love dark dreams.<strong>

**Any requests?**


	13. Demons Inside

**I am so so SO sorry for not updating! I was busy; life got in the way. :/ I feel especially bad since I have a bunch of requests to fulfill and I want to finish them up for you all as quick as possible. That is definitely a priority, though, and I promise I won't leave you hanging!**

**From Hhhh (Guest): "Mabel's thoughts on trying to save Book 3 from Bipper and her thoughts on Bipper turning back to normal? (Sorry if this seems too demanding D:)"**

**Oh, don't worry, it isn't demanding at all! I don't mind writing requests, especially not ones about Bipper! One new one-shot coming right up!**

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><p><strong>Demons Inside<strong>

She should have known, to be honest. The moment she had seen her "brother" in the audience and he had offered to be the reverend, she should have guessed something was off. After having an argument and storming off like that, why would he be so eager to help her again? She had just blown it off easily though, and now here she was: sitting in the cake as Bill in her twin's body (Bipper, as she had penned him in her head) held her life in his hands, grinning down at her evilly as she clutched the journal to her chest.

"Give me the book or your play is ruined!"

Her first thought was _No. I can't._ Not Dipper's beloved journal. She couldn't imagine her brother without it. What would he say if he saw her hand it over willingly to the demon?

Mabel bit her lip as her eyes locked on Gabe in the audience, her resolve weakening as he watched the sock opera continue.

But she had worked so hard on this opera. She had worked so hard to get it just right, and it seemed like such a waste if this triangle (well, not really a triangle anymore...) was going to ruin it if she refused. All of her attempts at finding love this summer had flopped - and now that she _actually had a chance with somebody_, this could destroy yet another epic romance.

Was it really that hard to choose between helping her twin and saving her show?

She felt her throat constrict as she reluctantly handed to book out to Bipper, ignoring the cackle of glee he made. She averted her eyes, trying not to feel like a terrible sister as she stared down at the play below the cake she sat in. _I'm sorry, bro-bro. I'll make this right, I promise._

She didn't realize the demon in her brother's body was still talking and laughing until a certain question (albeit rhetorical) reached her ears: "I mean, who would sacrifice everything they worked for just for their dumb sibling?"

Memories flashed through her brain, the summer passing by in one split-second: Dipper saving her from the gnomes, Dipper being attacked by Gideon just because he tried to break up with the freak for her, Dipper allowing her to keep Waddles but giving up on stopping the inevitable relationship between his crush and Robbie... The demon's words rang in her ears and her brow furrowed as an odd mixture of anger and determination swelled inside her heart. No, she couldn't do this. After everything her brother had done for her, she could afford to give up yet another attempt at an epic summer romance. He'd given up so much for her alone, and paid the price so many times, that she knew what she had to do.

_For Dippingsauce._

_"__Dipper_ would," Mabel replied, turning to face Bipper.

"Huh?"

Ignoring the confusion on her possessed twin's face, she yanked the journal from his grasp, making him yelp and fall into the cake as well. Sadly, this meant Bipper also let go of the rope holding her up in the first place. The two of them screamed as the cake plummeted towards the stage, puppets scattering as it descended quickly. Mabel tackled Bipper before they hit the stage, the two of them rolling on the floor as they tugged at the journal.

She ended up on top, struggling to pull it out of his unusually strong grip. Gritting her teeth, she yelled, "Get out of my brother's body, you evil triangle!"

Smacking him across the face with the journal - _sorry, Dipper, that'll probably hurt later_ - the girl ran upstage, clutching it protectively to her chest as the demon taunted her. He said he had no weaknesses, eh? Mabel eyed the sweat beginning to form on his brow and an idea suddenly came to mind as he pinned her on the ground, reaching for the journal.

"True, but you're in _Dipper's body_, and I know all _his_ weaknesses!"

"What do you mean 'his - ?' " Bipper frowned as she gently reached over and tickled his side. Immediately he began to cackle and fell over laughing, giving the brunette time to get up and move a safe distance away.

"GAH! Body spasms! What are these?"

She couldn't stop herself from smiling widely now. "A little note about the human body: _you_ haven't slept in twenty-four hours! Also, I got a full night's sleep and I'm on four mega-shots of Mabel Juice!" As she spoke, the possessed boy chased her around the stage, steadily growing tired and panting heavily. She noticed he was beginning to mumble to himself and stopped, holding the journal close as he began to groan. Bipper's eyelids fluttered and she smiled as he lurched forward finally, stumbling before he fell on his face.

After a moment, she frowned, unsure if this meant Bill was gone from her twin's body. What if she was wrong? What if he was just resting?

Her worries were placated when she saw the boy open his eyes - _normal brown eyes! _- and he smiled in happiness. "Yes!" He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain, and cheered. "I'm in my own body again!"

"And... it's just as underwhelming as I remember..." Mabel smiled sympathetically at her brother, who grimaced at the sharp pains he felt. She'd patch him up later, or get Soos to help her - assuming he wasn't in need of a hospital or anything.

_At least he's back_, she thought to herself. _I'd rather have Dipper over any cute guy here._

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><p><strong>Hopefully I wrote Mabel in-character. I hope you like it!<strong>


	14. I Spy

**From Carol Molliniere: "You've been getting into a lot of the characters minds and doing a good job at it. Can we see you getting into the triangle's mind? Probably anything inbetween Dreamscaperers and Sock Opera, just Bill...WATCHING everyone. Look out Gravity Falls!"**

**Thank you! Absolutely, I love writing Bill-related one-shots! This one shall be set right after Into the Bunker, and has some references and hints at Sock Opera (because I can).**

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><p><strong>I Spy<strong>

Okay, so maybe he had been a little too lenient with those kids. Letting them go had been merely a way to get them off his back for the moment, and watching them deal with Gideon had been rather entertaining. Those two kids were interesting. No matter how many times someone or something told them to stay away from the supernatural (he would chuckle to himself in the mindscape as he spotted Pine Tree cross his fingers behind his back) they always found some way to get in and out of trouble with the creatures in Gravity Falls.

Unfortunately, as amusing as Shooting Star and Pine Tree were, they also were steadily growing closer to uncovering some dangerous secrets. The author of those journals, for instance, was one thing he knew Pine Tree was obsessed with finding. It seemed that after Gideon took the Shack the kid grew even more determined to find out the greater secrets in this town.

"Probably shouldn't have let them off with a warning," Bill mused, watching as the kids slept one night after daring to enter the author's bunker (which he was rather impressed Pine Tree had discovered in the journal, considering how long it had been since someone had set foot in that place). Shooting Star was dreaming of the usual: boys, sweaters, those two brightly-colored and radical boys she adored. He couldn't help but roll his eyes as she giggled in her sleep.

Pine Tree shifted in his slumber and drew the demon's eye to him quickly. He briefly wondered if the kid sensed his presence in the dreamscape.

While the girl's dreams were usually bright and terribly cheerful, which grew sickening to watch most of the time, her twin's head was dark and was so cluttered that Bill barely found his way around the mess whenever he spied on his dreams. Pine Tree often dreamt of monsters and mysteries, sometimes having to run from the supernatural creatures before waking with a start. Those were frequently entertaining.

Tonight was no different - except the monster this time was the shapeshifter, who had taken the form of that red-haired cashier girl he liked. The kid was running through the bunker, trying to hide from the doppelganger as they called out taunts and laughed at his obvious fright. Bill watched for a few minutes, amused by the kid's fear.

Pine Tree was the more logical of the twins, focusing more on the brains than the heart of the mysteries. It was amusing to see him becoming more and more obsessed with the town of Gravity Falls, and Bill wondered if the preteen even realized this. Clearly Shooting Star and Fez had, although the former was choosing to accompany her brother to keep him safe and because she seemed to be in a bit of denial over his obsession. How far would this kid be willing to go to learn all the secrets this town offered?

That thought stopped the dream demon cold and he flashed scarlet briefly. No. That wasn't an option.

These twins were going to get in the way of his plans, plans he had worked so long on, and he couldn't have them trying to stop him. Not now, when he was growing closer than ever to achieving his goal.

Shooting Star wouldn't be difficult. Point her in the direction of some boy she deemed cute, and she was distracted well enough (Bill considered giving that one guy who was crazy about puppets a push in her direction one of these days, just to get her out of his way if Pine Tree might need her). It was the _other_ twin who was going to be difficult to yank away from that journal.

No, he had to stop this obsession of Pine Tree's. That kid was smarter than he had thought, and he had underestimated him once before in the mindscape of his great-uncle; the preteen boy had managed to learn how to bend the mindscape to his will and conjure whatever he imagined. If the kid was clever enough to figure _that_ out, he definitely needed something stronger than a distraction for the boy.

Destroying the journal - and now that laptop Question Mark was planning on repairing too, while he remembered it - was not going to be simple, especially since he was in the mindscape. Just because he wanted the book destroyed didn't mean he could just outright take it and do so. No, Pine Tree would notice and he had no patience for an argument over that journal right now. He wanted to do it in a way so that the kid would truly understand how dangerous the supernatural was, and that he simply _couldn't _continue this dumb obsession.

Bill watched as Pine Tree dove down a tunnel to avoid the shapeshifter in his nightmare, his eye watching the monster now instead of the boy. These fleshbags had such entertaining nightmares sometimes, it made him laugh to think of the terror they experienced because of one measly imagined dream.

"What I wouldn't give to be in your body, kid," he chuckled and floated above the preteen boy's head. "Seems like all that pain is just going to waste in your worried little head!"

He froze suddenly, rethinking what he had just said. And then, if demons with only one eye and no mouth could smirk, Bill definitely did right then and there.

"_Oho_... I suppose we could strike up a deal, couldn't we? I mean, it's been quite a long time since I've had a puppet..."

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><p><strong>Bill, NO. Leave the poor kid alone.<strong>


	15. Of Golf and Tickle Fights

**From** **lovablepines: "SUPER DUPER FLUFFY CUTE MABEL AND DIPPER? And I mean the sibling relationship, NOT Pinecest :3 thank you so much, I love your work"**

**Of course! :) Don't worry, I don't ship them like that; I understand what you mean. I do love myself some good sibling fluff... This one-shot takes place during the end of Carpet Diem (when the twins make up). Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Of Golf and Tickle Fights<strong>

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Dipper fought back a groan and turned over in his bed. He shouldn't be having this bad a time trying to sleep. Normally when he couldn't sleep, he would read the journal or one of his mystery novels. Usually reading helped calm his mind and he could fall asleep easily. Tonight, however, his brain was restless and he didn't feel like trying to read.

Why was he so bothered by the quiet? It shouldn't have bothered him, especially not after the sleepover Mabel and her friends had had yesterday.

Mabel.

His heart ached as he recalled their arguments throughout the day. He had had enough of his sister's boisterous slumber parties and decided to attempt to persuade Grunkle Stan to give _him_ the hidden room Soos had uncovered in the Shack earlier. Of course, there was always this nagging feeling in his heart when he thought of moving out, saying _But I don't really want to move out..._ He had ignored it, thinking he was just getting cold feet.

But Dipper realized - amidst the whole body-switching ordeal - that he really..._didn't _want to move out of the attic. It had been so much fun sharing a room with Mabel this summer, despite his initial horror (_sharing a room with his sister? Oh, this would end badly_, he had thought) and now that he had a chance to give it up, he found himself hesitant. The boy recalled games of attic stuff golf and listening to his sister name all of the mold on the ceiling of the attic with surprising fondness. And now, as he lay in bed in his new bedroom, he was...lonely.

He missed saying goodnight to his sister when she was only across the attic from him. He missed hearing her voice in the night when she couldn't sleep and would try to meow herself back to sleep. The room felt so empty without her.

Dipper sighed aloud and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if Mabel was having a similar problem. He knew she hadn't wanted to move out of the attic either, and he began to ponder whether this had been a good idea. The silence was stifling in this room with just him.

He sat up and climbed out of bed, grabbing his pillow as an afterthought. Sneaking out of the room, he tiptoed up the stairs, hoping Grunkle Stan wouldn't awaken, and paused in front of the attic door. What if she said no? What if she was still mad at him?

Only one way to find out.

Dipper took a deep breath and knocked. There was a pause before he heard her get out of bed and walk to the door, his heart hammering in his chest. It opened a smidge and she stared at him in surprise, not seeming half-asleep (she probably hadn't even gone to sleep yet, he realized).

"Hey, uh, do you wanna have a sleepover?"

She stared at him with an unreadable expression for a moment before opening the door and disappearing from his sight. He set down his pillow and looked up in time for her to cry, "FORE!"

Dipper ducked as she swung a golf club and the golf ball went flying into the wall next to him. He laughed and hurried over to give it a try, relieved that she wasn't angry. He hit the ball and it crashed out the window like it had yesterday, a small THUD reaching the twins' ears.

"OW! Why am I even out here at night?" Grunkle Stan's voice reached their ears, causing the two to giggle.

"Is that still out of bounds?" Dipper asked teasingly, handing her the golf club to let her swing.

Mabel smiled brightly. "Yep! Rules are rules!"

"Oh, come on!"

She laughed at his whine. "Sorry, Dip! I know what'll make you feel better..."

"What...?" He eyed her warily as she took her next swing, which landed beautifully in a cup that used to be part of their golf game yesterday.

"TICKLES!"

"Wha - ? Mabel, no!"

The boy was helpless as his sister pounced, tickling his sides as he tried to push her hands away. She eventually began to laugh as well, pausing long enough for Dipper to retaliate with his own tickling (which made her laugh even more than he had). "No! I won't give in! Someone write my will! I'm giving everything to Waddles!"

Dipper laughed and stopped so that they both could take a breather, falling back onto the wood floor. "I don't think a tickle fight can kill you, Mabel."

"You never know! It's possible!"

He snorted but failed to suppress a small smile at her words. "Sure."

"What? You don't believe me?"

"Sure, I do. I'm sure it's entirely possible to kill someone by tickling them."

His heavy sarcasm earned him yet another round of tickling, which led to a full-on tickle war, and if Stan Pines walked into the attic the next morning and found the twins collapsed next to each other out of exhaustion, he said nothing of it.

* * *

><p><strong>You probably wanted something else, sorry, but I just had to add on something fluffier for the end of this episode. Besides, tickle fights are another one of my weaknesses. :)<strong>

**I promise I'm working on all of your requests! I have two more to go, I believe, so expect them out before the fifth of January. Oh, and by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	16. Homeliness

**Since I cannot reply through a message to guests (one thing I dislike about this website, ugh, sorry), I'm just going to clarify something NoUserNameYet (Guest) inquired about.**

**Yes, I will do AUs, although if I am not familiar with the AU I may opt not to do it, sorry. The only AUs I am familiar with in the fandom are: ****Rev!Pines, Transcendence, Monster Falls, Blinded, Rebel Falls, and Antigravity (as well as my own AU I made up a while back, which is basically a Jekyll & Hyde - as in the musical - crossover with GF). But AUs are not out of the question, so I _will_ do them if I know it well enough.**

**From** **123lionclan: "Can we have a Soos one-shot, where he reflects over his family and his co-workers from the mystery shack?"**

**Ooh, a Soos one-shot! Absolutely! This is set the night after the Blendin's Game episode. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Homeliness<strong>

Long after his grandmother had gone to bed, Soos lay in bed writing in his diary (not that he would ever let Abuelita know he _had_ a diary, heh...). He was growing tired but he felt the need to finish recounting the events today. Not that anyone would ever read this, save for himself.

This had to be one of the strangest birthdays so far - and that even included the time the party clown had thrown up on his cake. After being surprised by the twins with a birthday party and feeling an all-too-familiar melancholy fill his heart, he had been treated to a laser tag outing instead to make it up to him. Unfortunately he soon lost Dipper and Mabel once the game began. The two had promised not to leave his side, and yet it seemed they had just as quickly forgotten about him. He had planned to leave after struggling to find them and enjoy the game - but then out of nowhere, the twins reappeared! They said that they'd been sidetracked while trying to get a "time wish" for him, just so he could see his dad.

Yet when he received the time wish, Soos found that...he didn't _want_ to use it to see his dad. His friends had gone through so much trouble just to get it for him, and what had his dad ever done for him? Send him a crummy postcard from some new city each year, promising to make it his next birthday? Why would he ever want to meet someone who didn't care enough about him to just visit every now and then?

So, instead of wishing to meet his dad, he wished to fix up the twins (who were sporting a number of obvious bruises, cuts, and scrapes that made him wonder just what exactly they had to do to get this wish) and for a slice of infinite pizza - because hey, it _was_ his birthday.

Reflecting on his decision hours prior, the man didn't regret his choice. He had thrown out all of the postcards he had kept from his dad, much to his grandmother's surprise, and it was as if a great burden had been lifted off of his shoulders. He felt almost _light__er_ without the box of postcards.

It was strange that after years of unhappy birthdays he felt so free.

Soos smiled at the memory of Dipper and Mabel staring up at him enthusiastically, battered and bruised, waiting for him to make his wish. He remembered the first day the twins had come to Gravity Falls: Mabel waving brightly at him and introducing herself in the first minutes they met, and Dipper rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly before giving him a thin smile. He certainly hadn't expected the summer to turn out the way it had thus far, nor to become fast friends with Stan's great-niece and great-nephew. In a way, they were more like family to him than his own dad.

Now that he thought about it, even Stan and Wendy had grown closer to him this summer. Wendy was only working here for a summer job and the two workers hadn't really bonded until the twins arrived. And while Soos looked up to Stan, the man hadn't paid him as much attention before as he did lately, talking with him more often. It was almost as if Dipper and Mabel had brought everyone in the Shack together.

Sort of like one weird family.

Soos chuckled to himself at the thought. Not that he minded, though.

_They - and Abuelita - are the only family I really need._

The handyman finished writing in his diary and set it down on the table beside his bed. Shutting off the light, he laid back down and smiled softly. Before he fell asleep, Soos briefly wondered if the others ever thought of him as family. The thought soon slipped from his mind as he gave in to his exhaustion, entering a world of dreams where he found himself surrounded by familiar smiling faces.

_My family._

* * *

><p><strong>I love that episode :) I definitely did <em>not<em> expect to feel so bad for little Soos, but I like how the episode turned out.**


	17. My Favorite

**From Zeena Hero (Guest): "Can you do one where bill gives dipper a nightmare where he keeps turning him into magical creatures? (Deer centaur, merman, nome, manitour, gremoblin, ect.)"**

**Interesting... I may or may not have turned this into a (slightly) crack one-shot without meaning to. Oops.**

* * *

><p><strong>My Favorite<strong>

This had to be one of the weirdest dreams Dipper had ever had. And considering how that one dream when he was eight had featured a miniature cat that puked rainbows (not unlike the gnomes, now that he thought about it), that was saying something.

He crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance and stared up at the cackling triangle floating not twenty feet away. "Are you done yet?"

"Oh, lighten up, Pine Tree! Where's your sense of humor?"

His entire lower half had been turned into one of a deer. Dipper was not amused.

Brown ears flattened themselves on his head as he glared as fiercely as a twelve year old half-deer boy could. "_Bill_."

The dream demon snickered. "Fine, you wanna be something else?"

"Yes - wait, what are you doing - ?"

The boy yelped as his body began to transform again, falling to the ground as his legs stuck together. He tried to pry them apart to no avail. Dipper gasped as he realized what was happening, realizing why his legs were changing color and _oh, no, no - were those fins?!_

"Better?" Bill couldn't hold back his snickering at the sight of the kid's horrified face. "Geez, your sister would be loving this right now, you know!"

"Then go mess with her dreams, not mine!" Dipper snapped. A split-second later his words sank in and his eyes grew wide. "Oh, no, I didn't mean that - ugh!"

The dream demon floated down so that they were eye level, enjoying how red the kid's cheeks were. "Relax, Pine Tree! If I wanted to mess with Shooting Star, I wouldn't be in _your_ dreams, now would I?"

"Uh, no...?"

"Exactly!"

Bill snapped his fingers and Dipper transformed yet again, his body shrinking and the orange fish tail vanishing as he stared in shock at the triangle. His chin sprouted a bushy mane of brown hair and he cried out as the yellow triangle picked him up by the back of his shirt.

"Look at your stubby little legs! Hahahaha! Something's missing, though... Ah!"

With another snap of his fingers, a red cone-shaped hat appeared on his head. Dipper glared once more as he realized what he had been turned into this time. "Very funny, Bill. Will you change me back now?"

"What? You don't wanna be a gnome?" Bill said with mock surprise, placing the hand that wasn't holding the twelve year old gnome onto the spot right under his bowtie. If he were human, Dipper guessed that that was the equivalent of the demon's chest. "Pity."

Another snap and Dipper yelped as he was dropped on the ground. His body began to grow unnaturally tall and the boy glanced uneasily at the dream demon, unsure what he was being turned into this time. His skin turned a hideous shade of green and he winced as mushrooms sprouted upon his back, large fangs expanding in size in his mouth. His ears grew larger until they were pointed slightly like a bat. His skinny arms also grew more muscular, clumps of body hair littered all over this new form. After a moment of confusion, he turned back to Bill, shooting him a look of both annoyance and befuddlement.

"What, don't recognize yourself? Such a shame, Pine Tree. Here: take a look!"

A mirror popped into existence in front of him and Dipper shrank back in horror as he briefly glimpsed the terribly monstrous body of a gremloblin before the image shifted. Bill cackled as the boy-turned-monster gave a high-pitched scream of terror as he watched his worst nightmare play before his eyes. Oh, this kid was so much fun to toy with!

Yes, this was definitely worth skipping out on playing with Shooting Star's dreams - especially since she always ended up having those obnoxious boy bands somewhere to play synchronized music every time he showed up.

* * *

><p><strong>See, Dipper? Mabel's got the right idea!<strong>


	18. Defenses

**So, I was thinking of perhaps beginning an actual Gravity Falls story, either on this website or AO3 because I have an account there. I put the idea out on my tumblr a while back and the idea's grown a bit on me... If I come up with an actual outline and actually have time to write the fanfic, would anyone want to read it? If anyone is curious about the idea, just message me or ask about it.**

**From Smile Dip: "Dipper being protective of Mabel? :)"**

**Absolutely! More sibling fluff for all! (This one-shot sort of ties into the end of Gideon Rises and mentions both Irrational Treasure and Tourist Trapped, by the way)**

* * *

><p><strong>Defenses<strong>

He wasn't the older sibling. He wasn't the stronger sibling. Heck, he wasn't even the more likeable of the twins (Mabel was more sociable and always seemed to have ten times the amount of friends he did, when they weren't scared off by the bullies).

And yet, whenever she was threatened Dipper felt this overwhelming urge in his gut to protect her. To tell someone off for hurting her. To keep her out of harm's way, even if it meant he had to get hurt instead.

He couldn't explain it. Mabel had just decided to let it slide ever since the overprotectiveness came to light years ago, although sometimes she _would_ give him a stern lecture later on about how he_ shouldn't throw himself into harm's way whenever she was in the smallest amount of danger, and should take care of himself first! _Dipper usually ignored her lectures and pretended to listen as he plotted a subtle way to get back at whoever had taunted her that day about her "ugly and stupid" sweaters. There was no way that he would let something involving his sister slide, especially not if she seemed to forget how to smile for a couple of days.

He wasn't her bodyguard; he was her brother, and even though he was five minutes younger (a fact he loathed to bring up) he knew that when your twin was upset or in trouble, you couldn't just sit back and let it occur. You had to step up and defend them, shield them from further harm.

Perhaps that was why Dipper found himself eagerly shoving the confidential papers about the Northwest Cover-up in Pacifica's face, smirking as her loud squawks of indignation reached his ears from her limo.

Maybe this was why the twelve year old boy found himself leaping off of a _very high_ _cliff_ and crashing into the Gideon-bot, thoughts whirling around his head as they screamed, _LET HER GO YOU HURT HER LET MABEL GO HOW DARE YOU LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!_

Stan had chuckled and shaken his head when Mabel started to explain the fight inside the giant robot, gesturing wildly with a bright smile adorning her face. He watched from a few feet away, still trembling from that huge jump and the fading adrenaline. A sigh left his lips when he saw his great-uncle wave off the story, clearly thinking it was an exaggeration of some sorts. Though he knew Stan meant well, his claims of disbelief were growing irritating all too quickly. Why couldn't he just _attempt_ to believe them for once about whatever creature or adventure they had found that day?

Mabel glanced back and caught Dipper's eye before beaming more than before - if that was even possible. She waved for him to come over and when he didn't move right away, she hurried over and dragged her twin to join in, which began a tickle fest between the two. Dipper ignored his bruises and scrapes that ached when his sister tickled them; he'd deal with them later on, preferably once she wasn't there to lecture him or notice that he wasn't entirely unharmed. Who know that little creep could pack such a painful punch? He wondered briefly if Gideon was experiencing worse bruises than he and sighed internally. No, Dipper probably hadn't done _that_ much damage to the kid.

And now, back in the Shack at last, the preteen boy looked over at his sister as she finished putting up her boy band posters once again. Her happy smile and soft meowing made his heart swell. _She was okay._ He could barely believe that after the chaos of being forced out of the place they'd come to call home over the summer and being chased by a gigantic robot, everything was going to turn back to normal. He'd begin hunting monsters once more, with his twin tagging along, and Mabel would start hunting boys as she usually did. Everything was going to be alright.

"Earth to Dipper!"

He blinked and jumped as Mabel waved her hand in front of his face. Whoa, when had she gotten so close? "Uh, sorry, what?"

She giggled, "I was asking why you were staring at me, ya big dork."

Dipper's cheeks grew warm as he glanced away. "Um, it's n-nothing. I was just thinking, heh, you know..."

"Right..."

Mabel's skeptical look brought back a memory from what felt like ages ago, where the two had been in a somewhat similar situation.

_"Uh, uh, it's nothing!"_

_ "'Uh, uh, it's nothing!' What, are you really not going to show me?" Her tone was teasing and he found his defenses crumbling under her gaze, despite the warning he'd just found in the book. _Trust no one.

_ But couldn't he trust his own sister?_

"I was thinking about how crazy things were since Gideon... well, you know..."

"Stole the deed to the Mystery Shack, kicked us out, stole your journal, and tried to kill us?" Mabel supplied helpfully. While she was smiling as she spoke, the look in her eyes at the remembrance of the past few days was nothing short of serious.

"But it's okay now, Dip! Gideon's in jail. We got the Shack back and the town loves us for exposing that jerk as a fake! You even got your book back. Things are going to be okay again."

Dipper nodded, reaching into his vest to touch the spine of the worn journal. He couldn't believe that he'd managed to get it back so easily after defeating Gideon. There was no way he'd ever let it out of his sight or grasp again.

Mabel's smile faded after a moment of silence and no reply from her twin brother. "Are you thinking again, bro-bro?"

"Yeah..."

"What about?"

The preteen hesitated, unsure whether he was doing the right thing or not. "Do you think... I mean... Should we tell Grunkle Stan about the journal?"

His sister's eyes widened for a minute as his words sank in. "Tell Grunkle Stan? Are you sure?"

"I think so... why?"

Mabel's gaze flitted to her boy band posters as she bit her lip. "Well," she said slowly, "he doesn't really support this whole monster business, Dipper. What if he tries to stop us from exploring?"

He was definitely worried about this and knew she had a point. Then again, there was a possibility that Stan wouldn't even believe them after seeing the journal for himself. Or maybe he'd be alright with the exploration, as long as they got back in time for dinner every day.

"I just think that after everything, he at least deserves to know why Gideon almost tore the town apart trying to find the journal."

She contemplated his words. "True..."

"Do you think I _should_ tell him?" Dipper found himself blurting out. He wanted her honest opinion. If she didn't like the idea, maybe he could wait a bit before explaining the journal to their great-uncle. Maybe they could explain it together.

"Truthfully?" He nodded and his older twin smiled at him. "I think now's a good of a time as any, Dippingsauce."

"Don't call me that."

She tickled his side in response and giggled as he laughed, curling in on himself in an attempt to stop her. Mabel gave him a quick embrace, almost too short to be counted as one, and flounces back to continue unpacking her suitcase.

He could feel his anxiety fade a little at her optimism and cheerful aura. Yes, he would definitely make sure anyone who hurt his sister learned their lesson - even if it meant having to deal with tickle fights every now and then.

* * *

><p><strong>Probably not what you expected, but my imagination just sort of went off on a tangent, sorry. I hope you like it anyway, and I am terribly sorry to keep you all waiting for my updates! I promise I am working on the requests as you read this!<strong>


	19. Animal Instincts

**From I'mWishingforaStarRod: "Speaking of deer centaurs, can you do something Monster Falls-ish? Like with Gargrunkle Stan or Deerper or (heaven forbid) Sphinxley? Please?"**

** More Monster Falls, eh? I'll do my best! I think a bit of fluff is necessary for this, hmmm...**

**If anyone doesn't know the plot of the Monster Falls au, go to winterbolt's tumblr because they created it with a few other users. The basics are that the entire town has been transformed into monsters based on personalities (Dipper is a deetaur, Mabel is a mermaid, Wendy is a werewolf, etc.) and it's all because of this magic river in the woods. If you touch it, you get turned into a monster basically, and the Pines family is looking for a cure.**

* * *

><p><strong>Animal Instincts<strong>

"Do it again!"

"No."

"_Dipperrrrr_!"

"No, Mabel!"

Stan's eyes narrowed as the argument reached his ears, the sound of another fight coming on grating at his nerves. Ever since the incident that turned them all into these monsters, it seemed like the twins were constantly teasing each other or arguing about _something_. It was most likely due to the fact that the whole town was furious with them (honestly, you would think that they'd be a bit more considerate since the Pines family _was_ trying to reverse the effects of that weird magic river) and the stress was wearing them all thin. Combined with the fact that as a gargoyle now, he always felt so darn _tired_, it was safe to say that Stan Pines wasn't in a good mood.

"Mabel, it's embarrassing! Just drop it, okay?"

"But it's so cute!"

"No, it is - !"

"Dipper!" Stan snapped, feeling about ready to punch a wall if this went on for much longer. "Will you just humor your sister about whatever it is you're arguing about? I'm getting a migraine."

The deertaur came into view in the living room where his great-uncle was sitting, a scowl on his face. It would have made Stan laugh under normal circumstances - especially since he was towing a red wagon filled with water behind him that held Mabel in it - but he'd had enough fighting at this point to drain him of laughter.

"She's trying to get me to do that weird deer sound again, though!" Dipper griped, shooting an angry look at his twin.

Mabel stuck out her tongue in return. "Because it's cute! You're like Bambi, Dip, just face it."

"Wha - ? No - !"

"If it gets you both to shut up so I can get rid of this new headache you've given me," Stan interrupted loudly, "then _please_ just do it."

Dipper's mouth flapped open and shut quickly as Mabel cheered from the red wagon. He shot his great-uncle a furious look. "I can't do it on my own. It just sort of... happens."

Oh, right. He'd forgotten about that. It usually only occurred when the kid got scared or someone startled him.

_Oh._

The kid was going to kill him for this.

Stan shot his great-niece a look and she smiled in understanding before turning back to her brother. A man (or, um, _gargoyle_) had to do, what a man had to do, after all.

Dipper seemed to guess something was up and narrowed his eyes. His brown ears pinned back on his head, almost knocking off his trucker hat, and he began to ask, "What are you two - ?"

Without warning, Mabel leapt out of the wagon (which was impressive, considering how shallow the wagon was and how big _she _was) and onto her brother's back. She grinned as water sprayed everywhere and Dipper let out an unusually loud bleating sound, his face going scarlet in embarrassment. He covered his mouth as his sister giggled and Stan almost managed a smile at the look on the deertaur's face.

It _was_ rather funny.

"You planned that!" Dipper whined and glared at the mermaid as she slunk back into the wagon behind him.

"It was so cute!"

Stan sighed. "You two are going to be the death of me," he grumbled under his breath.

Neither of the twins heard; Mabel was gushing about the bleating and Dipper was pouting about it.

"You could have just splashed me or something," Dipper muttered.

"Where's the fun in that?"

The preteen boy groaned loudly. "Of all the monsters I could have been, I became a _deer._ Great."

"I like it," Mabel declared. "I think it does suit you, in a way." While the way she leaned on the edge of the wagon and her bright smile would have made anyone think she was being silly about it, the sincere look in her brown eyes disproved this. "Besides, would you have rather been a zombie like Robbie?"

Dipper scratched his furry back absentmindedly. "Well... no."

"Or a vampire like Gideon?"

"Ugh, no!"

Stan snorted at that one. He still thought it was funny that the blond kid had _actually_ gotten bitten by a vampire.

"See? You're cool all on your own! Right, Grunkle Stan?"

He tensed as both of the twelve year olds turned to look at him. Mabel's expression of silent encouragement behind her brother (who was trying to look indifferent about the matter, but his eyes betrayed his hopeful demeanor) made him cave in.

"Your sister has a point, kid. I mean, at least you aren't crashing at random points each day and trying to keep awake. Also these wings are heavy."

Dipper laughed a little but the kid seemed more confident now and something about that made the man-turned-gargoyle's heart swell. "Yeah, I guess."

"Speaking of sleeping," Stan said, running a hand down the stone on his face, "I'm getting ready to crash again. Watch the shop, okay? Soos should be getting back from his lunch break in a few minutes and Wendy'll probably be here soon too."

"Sleep tight!" Mabel waved at her brother, who rolled his eyes before walking over to the chair where the gargoyle had made himself comfortable. The mermaid sat up and gave him a quick hug. Stan tried not to get annoyed about how she dripped a good amount of water onto the floor and on him. It wasn't as if she could help it.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" the mermaid finished as she flopped back into the water-filled wagon. Dipper snorted and the elder male could have sworn he saw the kid smile at him before heading for the shop section of the Shack.

Stan soon fell asleep, the lingering sounds of Mabel ordering her brother to move faster ("Onward, Deerper!" "Don't ever call me that again.") and the shifting of his wings fading into the darkness of his dreamless sleep. He would even dare to say that he fell asleep with a smile.

_Things won't be so bad after all._

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for how short it is, but I hope you liked it!<strong>

**I know one or two of the readers were wondering about what that story idea I mentioned before the last one-shot was about, so I'm just going to clarify it here:**

**Basically, Stan and Dipper get stuck in this cave when the latter goes exploring by himself - Mabel was off with friends or something like that so he was bored - and Stan went looking for him. They have to get out, but the entrance is blocked and all they have are Journal 3 and a flashlight. Unfortunately, the cave was the beginning of a network of tunnels under the town and creatures galore are still roaming them freely. They'll probably escape and all, but I'm a little afraid to start it without a plot to guide it and because I tend to get bored of stories or think they're crappy and ditch them.**

**If I did start it, it would be probably during February or maybe March because I am about to get really busy again (ugh, work). And I would definitely continue the one-shots because I love writing them and I love receiving requests from you all.**

**I don't know, I'm rambling a bit now. What do you think?**


	20. For Reasons Unclear

**From Blarb (Guest): "Hey, I was wondering, if when you have the time, to write about why Gruncle Stan was outside at night? (as in the time near the end of carpet diem?) I am kind curious, and would love to know what mysterious thing he was up to. Ps: I LOVE YOUR FANFICS!"**

**Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying them! That end bit still makes me curious about why he was there too, actually...**

* * *

><p><strong>For Reasons Unclear<strong>

This was stupid. This was one of the main rules he had set in stone for the twins, something he had reminded Dipper of countless times - and yet here he was wandering towards the woods. Even worse, he was only wearing a coat on over his wife-beater and boxers so it was fairly chilly.

_Not one of my best ideas_, Stan conceded with a heavy sigh.

There was a sudden crash and he whipped around in shock, unsure what the source of the sound was. He found out a moment later when something hard hit him on the forehead. "Why am I even out here at night?!" he complained out loud more to himself than anything.

Rubbing his forehead, he bent down and picked up the projectile. A golf ball? Were the kids still up? A glance at the triangular window showed a hole where the ball had soared through and he shook his head wearily. He'd have to get Soos to fix that tomorrow morning.

Turning away and heading into the woods (a bit more cautiously, now that he knew the twins weren't asleep) he felt a melancholy smile twitch upon his lips. It had been so long since Stan had ventured into the forest. The only memories he held involved the dangerous creatures lurking about in the trees, but he realized that he'd missed these woods. It was unusually quiet here, strangely peaceful compared to the busyness of the Mystery Shack on a daily basis. The moonlight peeking through the leaves gifted the trees with a faint glow and he breathed in deeply, an uncharacteristic calm settling over his heart.

His hands slipped into his coat pocket and gripped the object hidden there, memories returning unbidden to his head. He should have hidden that room better; why was it always the handyman who discovered the hidden rooms in the Shack? There were too many bad things that could have gone wrong in there, things better left alone. Of course now that he'd gotten rid of that carpet and all of the junk there before, Dipper had taken the room as his own. He couldn't blame the kid, to be honest (he knew the trouble of rooming with someone who could be both endearing or exasperating). Thankfully the curious boy hadn't asked what the room used to be or about that darn carpet.

Stan glanced back at the Shack, rubbing the spot where that golf ball had hit him unconsciously. Those two were too nosy and stubborn for their own good, and he was growing a little concerned about them. He only hoped that they had more sense than he had at age twelve, and would not go looking for trouble.

He gripped the object in his pocket tighter and stopped walking after another minute. He stared up at the bright crescent moon, wondering how everything had gone so wrong so long ago. Now he couldn't even get that portal to work without the other journals - one of which he knew where it was but couldn't get it, and the other lost beyond hope - and every day felt like a failure.

Withdrawing the glasses from in side his coat pocket, Stan bowed his head and just turned them over in his hands. So many secrets he didn't want to bring up from long ago, so many bad memories that he had struggled to forget...

"I'm sorry," he mumbled under his breath. He was alone in the woods and no one could hear him, but he felt as if he had to whisper. "I didn't mean for everything to turn out like this, I really didn't."

The glasses seemed to mock him. The silence, which had seemed pleasant not too long ago, was slowly growing stifling.

"You'd probably know what to do if you were here. You'd know how to fix that darn thing, wouldn't you?"

_Too bad you can't._

Stan flinched at that thought. No, he wasn't going to go down that path. No more reminiscing. That only led to depression, and he had barely survived that the last time.

"But... I really need your help. Things have changed. I have to protect these two kids for a summer, and... well, let's just say that I'm not doing a quality job so far. I'm not good with children and they're both too curious for their own good. This town will destroy them if they dig deeper into these mysteries. What do I do...?"

There wasn't a reply but Stan truly wished there was.

He sighed and stared down at the glasses, kneeling and clawing at the dirt to dig a shallow hole. Burying the glasses wasn't as simple as he thought, just like forgetting everything that had occurred all those decades ago. The old con man ended up marking the dirt mound with a few sticks he buried around it in a circle. That way he could find them again, if the need ever arose.

The portal could wait tonight. It wasn't as if he would be getting any work done without the other journals anyways.

"I'm going to find you. I promise I will."

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><p><strong>Short one, sorry. I don't think Stan would want to linger there for too long, though - what with all those memories and all. <strong>**I may or may not have added in the Stanley Twin theory hints...**

**Thank you to everybody who has responded about my story idea! I've received a ton of encouragement so I think that I might give it a go once things settle down. I just want to plan it out and be able to update it without procrastinating for once, so it may be a bit before I actually post it (but I will let you know when I absolutely will!). Thank you again!**

**I promise I am working on your requests; if I haven't gotten to you yet, it is only because I am going in order of who posted their request first. I have about four to go, but I am planning on knocking another one out later tonight so keep a watchful eye!**


	21. And Upon Realization

**First off, I really want to thank everybody who has reviewed or requested some one-shot of any sort. I sincerely appreciate that you took the time to do that. I smile every time I get a request or a nice review in general. If I had known so many people would enjoy these one-shots, I would have begun them ages ago.**

**That being said, I now have quite a bit more requests so I may be slow updating due to trying to get them all sorted out. Whipping these out isn't as easy as it looks. But I promise I will try to finish all of them!**

**From Carol Molliniere: "Do one more that centers on Grunkle Stan, from any episode."**

**Sure thing! This one-shot is set during the end of Land Before Swine (the bit where Stan saves Waddles)****, which gives me a bit of emotional aches sometimes. Stan and anything having to do with the twins makes my heart ache.**** Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>And Upon Realization<strong>

The moment he locked eyes again with that insufferable pig, he knew what he'd been denying for quite some time now and knew it to be true. It was as if the pig were sending him a mental message: _See? Do you see it now?_

He recalled the way his chest tightened every time the twins came back to the Shack with bruises and scrapes galore, wishing he could hurt whoever or whatever did this to them both. He recalled how he'd get this weird fuzzy feeling whenever Mabel beamed up at him or when Dipper gave him that small hesitant smile. He recalled how Mabel was always so eager to try out her jokes on him, her smile growing when he actually laughed at a few. The way the older twin would give him a hug before racing up the stairs to the attic for bedtime. How Dipper would surprise him with his bursts of stubbornness over a subject, reminding Stan of himself at that age. The way Mabel had learned rather quickly how to play cards with him and picked up the art of cheating from him just as fast (something else she seemed to have gotten from him). How the two of them genuinely seemed to like him, despite whatever misgivings that they might have had in the beginning of the summer.

Oh.

_Oh._

It appeared, that despite his initial annoyance towards his relatives... he'd grown fond of them.

He _would_ care if Mabel stopped talking to him for the rest of the summer. He _would_ care if the twins got hurt on his watch - and not just because he was obligated to watch them for three months. He would _never_ forgive himself if they got hurt because of the supernatural in this town because they dug too deep into its mysteries and didn't listen to him because _darn it, he cared for Dipper and Mabel_.

Stan had struggled to deny it the whole time they'd been here, and now as he stared at his great-niece's pet, he knew it was stupid to keep pretending. Yes, it _hurt_ when Mabel vowed never to speak to him again. It hurt when Dipper turned away from him after he mentioned his curiosity with the town was getting irritating. It hurt even more when the two of them abandoned him on that "family bonding" trip to go adventuring with Soos, of all people. Even when they came back, he could still feel the sting of rejection.

The pig's snort drew the old man out of his thoughts and he laughed as he imagined the animal trying to say, _I told you so._ The laugh died down as he glanced past the pig and saw a large shape swooping towards them.

"Aw, dang it!"

He looked back at the pig who just stared back expectantly, and a low sigh left his lips. "Oh, don't look so smug about it." He knew what he had to do; there was no way he was going to allow Mabel's precious (yet highly annoying) pig become dinner to that dinosaur.

He felt stupid as he quickly attached that darn pet carrier thing (what had she called it? Huggy Wobbly something?) around him and placed the pig in it snugly. "Well, this is just about the dumbest thing I've ever done."

Turning back to the pterodactyl, Stan shouted, "You want this pig?" Waddles snorted quietly and the sound gave him a strange sort of confidence. "THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME, YOU FLYING DEVIL! COME AND GET ME!"

The pterodactyl swooped towards them, now only feet away, and Stan leapt out from under the mushroom with a yell. Yep, this was definitely the strangest thing he had ever done by a long shot.

He managed to land on the dinosaur's head somehow and as it tried to tilt its head to snap at him, he yanked it up so that they'd at least be heading out from near the oversized mushroom. It let out a guttural cry and Stan punched it in the face, finding the action strangely ironic considering that story he'd made up to the twins earlier that day. As they flew higher, the con man leaned around to punch it in the eye. He could have sworn he heard Mabel's voice crying out something but he continued punching the pterodactyl anyway. There was time to check on the kids and Soos later. He had a pterodactyl to deal with.

"From heck's heart I stab at thee!" Stan yelled and punched the creature in the eye once more. The pterodactyl sank, loosing altitude as they fell toward the cliff where he had stood last before falling down with that pig. He leapt off and pulled himself onto the cliff as they came close to the edge, panting and feeling utterly ridiculous with the pig in the carrier attached to him.

To his surprise Dipper and Soos ran up to him cheering, and he noticed his great-niece hanging back a bit with his familiar fez atop her brown hair. She didn't look angry - she almost looked _happy_... Did she forgive him?

Only one way to find out.

"Here's your pig, kiddo." Stan picked up one of the pig's little arms and waved it at her.

Mabel definitely smiled now, and it grew once he handed the pet to her. "Waddles! You saved him for me."

He tried to ignore the warm sensation deep in his heart and ultimately failed. Taking his fez back, he said, "Yeah, well... sometimes you just gotta - "

There was a sound behind him, and his first thought was _Should have made sure that thing was dead._ The next thought was _Get them out of here, keep them safe!_

Not that Stan Pines really minded.

"LOOK OUT!"

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><p><strong>I have a thing for protective Stan. Oops.<strong>


	22. The Flesh and Blood

**From Girldog321: "Bill's first thoughts of being in Dipper's body in Sock Opera?"**

**ABSOLUTELY! Anything having to do with this episode gets me excited!**

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><p><strong>The Flesh and Blood<strong>

He tugged hard on Pine Tree's small hand and almost laughed at how easily he slid right into the body as it collapsed. The first thing Bill registered was how oddly heavy his eyelids seemed. It seemed that the kid was tired.

It had been such a long time since he had inhabited a body. Did he even remember how to stand up? He pushed himself up with his hands, feeling a little shaky, and opened his eyes with a broad grin. Pine Tree, who was something akin to a ghost now, watched the demon with growing horror and Bill felt his grin widen. _Excellent._

"Sorry, kid, but you're _my _puppet now!"

Bill grabbed the laptop from where it sat by the window and threw it to the ground as he cackled. Hey, these noodle arms had some strength in them after all! He crushed the contraption with his foot, not having to look up to see that the kid was both shocked and horrified by this new twist. He could hear the kid panicking as he tried out his legs, stumbling forward with a chuckle.

Approaching the mirror, the demon studied the boy's body, cackling as he slapped himself to fight the tired feeling in his bones. Oh, how he had missed being out of the mindscape! Being in a fleshbag the first time was entertaining, and he had no doubt that this would be even better.

"Whoo! Pain is hilarious! And two eyes?" He stretched out the body's face to get a better look at them, pulling down on the lower lip to examine the teeth at the same time. "This thing is deluxe!"

"I don't understand - why are you doing this?" cried Pine Tree. "I thought we had a deal!"

Oh, how naïve this kid was. Bill released his grip on the face and turned to look at him floating high above in distress. Hilarity aside, Pine Tree needed to understand that he was being punished like this for a good reason.

"Look kid, you've been getting way too close to figuring out some major answers. I've got big plans comin' and I don't need you gettin' in my way. Destroying that laptop was a cinch. Now I just need to destroy your journal! Race you to the bottom of the stairs!"

Bill flung himself backwards and cackled as pain stung all over his body as he tumbled down. He definitely needed to make deals with this meatsack more often; this was _way_ more entertaining than it had been with that Gideon kid. Even if he was only doing this to teach Pine Tree a lesson and get him out of the way.

_Ooh, I wonder if he's got any human soda in this house?_

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><p><strong>Rather short one-shot, sorry. But it was fun to write and I hope you like it!<strong>


	23. Being the Backbone

**I'm trying to get one request done per night because there's a growing list to be done. So expect a few each week, depending on how fast I can type.**

**From Alphawulf: "I love these stories, and I'd be so up for reading a longer fic from you! Also this most recent chapter got me thinking...there are a lot of 'overprotective Dipper' stories, and that's completely fine, they're adorable and I love siblings lookin out for each other, but what about the reverse? Overprotective Mabel, lookin after her bro. He's embarrassed, but grateful, etc. Dunno, might be fun to write :p"**

**I don't see much of this, and I definitely love this idea. This one-shot is set during The Hand that Rocks the Mabel. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p><strong>Being the Backbone<strong>

She hadn't come to save her brother from her ex-boyfriend (whom she hadn't really wanted to go out with in the first place). She had come to try and talk to the latter, to break up with him herself instead of hiding behind Dipper's words. _Maybe_, she'd thought,_ Gideon will appreciate my honesty firsthand. Maybe I can try and show him I don't need Dipper to look out for me all the time._

Mabel appreciated that her twin wanted to help her and would do such an awkward thing for her. She really did. It was just... well, the more she thought about the break-up, the queasier she got. Did Gideon think she was just too scared to say it to his face? Why didn't she just tell him herself and save her brother the trouble? She wasn't some delicate flower who needed to be protected, after all.

And so, she had set out for Gideon's family's warehouse intending to apologize and officially break up with the boy.

There was no way she could have prepared herself to look through the window and see Gideon - using some weird _telepathy magic?! _- about to cut out her brother's tongue.

"M-Mabel! My marshmella. What are you doing here?" Gideon's obvious attempt at hiding his nervousness made her want to scream, but she forced herself not to look at her brother (who was still floating up in the air because of that weird magic) and focused on her former friend.

"I'm sorry, Gideon, but I can't be your marshmallow. I needed to be honest and tell you that myself."

Mabel spotted a brief look of surprise flit across her twin's face out of the corner of her eye and Gideon tightened his grip on that green bolo tie. He looked distressed, as if he had never been told 'no' before. Come to think of it, maybe he _hadn't._

"I-I don't understand..."

A choking sound caused her to glance at Dipper who, to her internal horror, was being strangled by that magic glow around him. She quickly made the connection as she looked back at Gideon, ignoring her twin brother's feeble warning. _It must be that bolo tie. He's controlling stuff with that magic brooch._ Anger boiled inside of the brunette but she again held her tongue. She could reason with the kid, right? Surely he wasn't totally crazy like those gnomes...?

"Hey, but we can still be makeover buddies, right? Wouldn't you like that?" She grabbed his hands and he looked at her in shock.

"Really?" Mabel's hope to possibly mend whatever was left of their friendship died the moment she saw the look in his blue eyes. It wasn't a look that told of happiness over not losing a friend; it was a look of someone who got everything they wanted, who had just regained their favorite toy. Whatever twisted version of affection Gideon felt for her, it wasn't something she wanted. He was only manipulating her.

Wow. That was both depressing and infuriating.

"No, not really!" she exclaimed, snatching the tie off his neck and holding it far away from the boy. The satisfying sound of her brother falling to the floor alive and mostly unharmed made her want to sigh in relief. "You were, like, attacking my brother! What the heck?!"

Panic flashed on Gideon's face and he scrambled to grab the tie back. "My tie! Give it back!"

She tossed it to Dipper after he picked himself up off the floor and breathed a small sigh of relief. They just had to get rid of the bolo tie and get out of here, and everything would be okay.

Of course, fate had entirely different plans.

"Ha! Not so powerful without this, are you?" Her brother held up the tie with a smug look on his face and any self-restraint in the psychic boy disappeared. He gave a yell and charged Dipper, who dropped the magical object in surprise. The both of them crashed through the window as Gideon tackled Dipper and they fell off the cliff.

Mabel's heart nearly stopped altogether in that one moment.

"DIPPER!"

Mabel felt her chest tighten and she ran towards the broken window, snatching up the tie as fast as she could because _oh my god, her brother was going to die, she had to save him, he was falling so fast, HE WAS GOING TO DIE. _She imagined herself floating over the edge of the cliff side and didn't bat an eye once her wish was granted. She spotted the two boys tumbling to their deaths and imagined them freezing in place right where they were. The preteen girl floated down beside them, looking Gideon right in the eye as he stared at her in shock.

They could've been friends. They could've been makeover buddies for the rest of the summer - and yet he had to kill her twin brother just because he wanted to help her break up with the kid. There was no way that was okay by her.

"Listen, Gideon, it's over. I will never, ever date you."

"Yeah!" Dipper chimed in right before she released the magic holding them all up off the ground. With one swift motion, Mabel smashed the bolo tie on the ground and watched as it went up in green smoke.

Gideon looked horrified and she took the time during his brief distraction to stand by her brother, whom she noticed upon close proximity was a lot more beat-up than she had thought. Gosh, what did that kid _do_ to him?

"MY POWERS! Oh, this isn't over. This isn't the last you'll see of wittle...ole'...me..."

As the blond spoke, he walked backwards into the dark forest, a threatening gleam in his eyes. Dipper glanced at his sister, slight embarrassment on his face.

"Sorry about Gideon..."

She snorted, surprising her twin not for the first time that night. "I'm fine. I guess I just didn't think he'd try and kill my own brother. There goes another summer romance fail."

Dipper laughed at that and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think we're going to have a chance at a normal relationship with somebody in a town like this, Mabel. No offense."

"True." Mabel hugged him and after a moment of hesitation, Dipper returned the gesture.

"No awkward sibling hug?"

"Not this time."

He got quiet once the words left her mouth and Mabel tried hard not to think about the fact that because of her fear of rejecting some dumb guy, her brother had nearly died. It didn't work too well.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into all this, Dipper. You were right all along. I should've just told Gideon I didn't want to date him at the start."

He pulled back, smiling warmly at her. "It's okay. Gideon just didn't know when to back off, I suppose. He's also a little creepy..."

Mabel gave a weak chuckle. "Yeah... Wanna go back to the Shack? We've gotta fix you up anyway."

Dipper studied her for a minute before smiling wider. "Yeah. Let's go."

And if the older twin held onto his hand for the whole way there, her shoulders tense and a rare serious expression written on her face, neither of them ever mentioned it.

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><p><strong>I have this headcanon that Mabel has the best poker face and is actually really good at keeping her emotions bottled up under pressure, which is why she didn't react when Gideon started choking her brother. Also, she's badass and I love her to death.<strong>


	24. Where Tangled Paths Go

**From Little Miss Anon (Guest): "Can you make a reverse pines story? doesn't necessarily have to be about psychotic things..."**

**Ooh, this one's new... I'll give it a try! (I love your name by the way :D) I won't give a long explanation about the au because most of the fandom knows what the Reverse Pines au is, but for**** those who don't, it is basically where Dipper and Mabel take on the role of the Gleeful twins (basically Gideon but doubled) and Gideon and Pacifica are either friends or siblings (I'm more partial to the former) in Mabel and Dipper's roles. Everyone's role is essentially the opposite of another's.**

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><p><strong>Where Tangled Paths Go<strong>

Gideon Pines always ended up running from some sort of monster this summer. Not that he went looking for trouble, of course, but trouble always seemed to find him. It usually decided that he needed to run for his life through the forest, wishing he hadn't eaten so many pancakes that morning.

This time however, he had the great pleasure of dragging Pacifica into the chase as well. As much as he appreciated his best friend tagging along to explore, she was a pain in the butt when they were under pressure - meaning that she tended to talk a _lot._

"You just _had_ to go looking for Bigfoot, didn't you? You couldn't have decided to hunt down - oh, I don't know - a _couple of fairies?!_ Anything but a gigantic hairy monster, please!" She stumbled over a tree root and Gideon grabbed onto her arm to lead her along. "Seriously, _what_ made you think that trying to sneak up on it was a good idea, Gideon?"

At times, he wondered what the heck his summer vacation had become - and if times like this were worth it.

"I thought it was sleeping!" He tried not to look back as the sound of thundering footsteps grew louder. "Besides, I believe it was _you_ who said that Bigfoot was likely to be more friendly than those pixies we found last Wednesday."

Pacifica winced at the memory. "Who knew pixies had such nasty tempers?"

"Ever watched _Peter Pan_?"

She punched him in the shoulder lightly but it was only half-hearted due to their frantic running. Gideon could already feel his sides aching; he really wasn't cut out for sprinting long distances, especially not when they ended up occurring every other day. Stupid monsters.

Pacifica pulled him behind a tall pine tree and shushed him when he tried to protest. They remained quiet as mice as the sound of echoing footsteps faded away, a low bellow reaching their ears. Breathing hard, Gideon shut his eyes and felt in his vest pocket for the journal, sighing in relief when he found the spine under his fingertips. He couldn't help but be grateful that it hadn't fallen out while he was running. What would the blond have done if he had lost his most prized possession?

"Is it gone?" His friend's inquiry drove him out of his thoughts, and Gideon peered around the edge of the wide tree to look for the monster.

"I think so. I don't see anything and I don't really hear anything."

The girl smiled and adjusted her ponytail. "Oh, good. For a second there, I thought we were going to get eaten!"

"Me too," he admitted. "That would have been a good way to lose him a long time ago. Thanks."

"No problem!"

Unfortunately their relief was short-lived once the preteen children realized something frightening: they had no clue where they were.

"I don't remember this part of the forest," Gideon said after a few minutes with a soft sigh. "I think we're lost."

"Isn't there a map inside of the journal?"

"I don't know if it shows where we currently are, though." Nonetheless, the boy withdrew the worn journal and began to frantically flip the pages (not that he would ever admit that he was acting panicked, no, he was perfectly _fine_!). He soon came across the map of the woods he'd found a few days prior to now and studied it carefully.

"If I'm correct... I think we need to go left after three minutes and keep going straight until we get to this creek see?" Gideon showed Pacifica the map and she leaned over his shoulder to look too. She frowned and asked, "What about from there? I don't see the Shack on the map."

He hesitated for a couple moments, struggling to picture where the Mystery Shack would be in his head. "Um, perhaps a sharp right? I think..."

"You _think_?" Pacifica's not-so-subtle groan was definitely not helpful to the boy. "Awesome."

"Shut up, Paz. I'm trying to think."

"Why don't we just go on and try to find the path ourselves?"

Gideon sighed heavily. "I told you this yesterday: the path tends to disappear in these woods. I don't know why, but it just does. We can't try and trust that we'll discover the path out of these woods."

"Great."

Pacifica walked over to a rock and sat down with a dramatic moan, resting her head on her hands as her friend poured over the journal. The brim of his trucker hat hid his eyes, casting a shadow over his face. He muttered to himself for a couple minutes, clearly trying to think of a way to get out safely. Gideon was always better with the more intellectual aspects of the mysteries. Pacifica wasn't dumb or anything though, she just didn't come up with the answer to a problem as fast as he could. However, she was definitely more creative than the boy and had been responsible for thinking quick on her feet to get them out of a sticky situation on more than a few occasions. It was moments like this, where she wasn't entirely needed to solve a problem, that she felt a little... well, _useless._

"I think I was right. We need to go right at the creek and that should lead us to the Shack. Follow me," she nodded as her best friend began to walk off in the opposite direction and hurried to follow. She trusted Gideon to get them both out of the woods; they'd been in more than one situation where they had been forced to depend on one another to get out of a dilemma involving some kind of supernatural creature. Ever since she had been kidnapped by gnomes near the beginning of June and he had helped her escape, they'd become the best of friends (despite how different they were just by personalities alone).

If anyone could get them out of the woods, it was Gideon Pines.

**WHERETANGLEDPATHSGOWHERETANGLEDPATHSGOWHERETANGLEDPATHSGOWHERETANGLEDPATHSGO**

"See something you like?" Mabel Gleeful rolled her eyes at the lame attempt at a joke (honestly, what was he? Nine?) and turned away from where she stood on the hill overlooking the two figures below. Her brother's raised eyebrow only made the sad excuse for a joke lamer.

"You're impossible."

"I'm not the one stalking two kids in the woods," Dipper pointed out with a smirk. His brown eyes flashed some strange emotion before they became vacant again. He always had the best poker face of the Gleeful twins. "Are they really that interesting?"

She snorted. "Just because you dislike them doesn't mean I can't try and see what they're up to."

Dipper's smirk vanished. "They know too much. And the Pines twerp humiliated you - in public! Stay away from them, sister mine."

Mabel couldn't help but snort again, turning away to focus on the boy below. _I never was very good at listening_, she mused with a nasty smirk on her face.

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><p><strong>The Gleeful twins are much darker than Gideon is in the canon universe whenever I write them. I can't help it.<strong>


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